PRINCIPLE #5: WALK IT
After the Lord tells Abram to look up and see, he then tells him to “Arise and walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.” (Genesis 13:17)
On my job, before I retired, supervisors were required to walk their areas, get out of their offices, and go where their people were. In this way, they could see what their subordinates saw and observe what they did so that they can better assist them.
By allowing Abram to walk through the land, the Lord is asking him to “walk his area,” so to speak. This is causing Abram to increase in faith and increase in confidence that God will do what He said. To walk through the land is to have corresponding action to what you say you believe. The land had not been given yet. It was promised, for Abram was a sojourner and a stranger in the land. (Genesis 12:6 and 13:7 says that the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled in the land at that time.)
Consequently, in order for Abram and his descendants to inhabit or occupy this land, they must displace or destroy the current inhabitants. Maybe God has promised you a new job, a new home, a new car, or a new business and when you look around the lay of the land you see other “inhabitants” occupying what God said he would give you. Don’t get discouraged. God is not surprised at your circumstances. He has already factored all that in. He already has a plan to bring you into what He has promised in your life.
So pick out your car. Go to the car lot and test drive the car God has promised you. Go to the bank and see how much mortgage you qualify for. Get pictures of what God has promised you or ask the Lord to give you a vision or dream to show it to you in your Spirit. Complete the resume. Apply for the job. Fill out the application. Go back to school. Do the training. Write the first chapter of the book or outline. Do what you can do so that God can do what you can’t!
Finally, in Genesis 13:18, we see once again Abram removing his tent and dwelling now in a different place, the plain of Mamre (which means strength or fatness) which is in Hebron (which means association, conjunction, joining). There he builds another altar unto the Lord. I hope by now you notice that everywhere Abram goes, he makes an altar unto the Lord, a permanent place of prayer and worship, a prayer commitment.
APPLICATION
I hope by now you see the importance of having a constant, even daily time of prayer with God. Abram spent time with God to seek him for guidance when he did not know what to do or what next steps to take. He even sought God when he messed up and made mistakes.
1) What time of day will you set as your time with God? (Some call it a Quiet Time.)
Treat it like a doctor’s appointment or an appointment with your supervisor. This is an appointment that you don’t want to miss or be late for. This is an appointment that you believe will bring value to your life, AND IT WILL!
2) Ask God to show you how to walk out the things He is showing you. Ask God to give you the strength and power to do what He is asking you to do.