I wrote Monday about Abram and Sarai responding to God’s direction and leaving Haran for the promise. I wrote on Tuesday about what Abram did while he didn’t know where he was going and what it meant.

A few years ago, Nancy mentioned that story of leaving without knowing where we were going when I told her I was leaving my job.

I was an executive pastor, the person who works behind the scenes. As a congregation we were at a decision point. During a conversation with my boss, I realized that what would help that decision be about the decision was me leaving.

I didn’t hear a voice or see a vision. I was at Bob Evans, after all. But I knew that heading out of Haran was the thing that was next.

I told my boss.

And then I called Nancy.

And we drove around in our pickup, and talked about several things, including about Abram and Sarai heading out.

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We didn’t have any promises of being a great nation, of course. That promise was Abram’s. We did have an awareness of the presence of God and the presence of each other.

It’s not the first time in our relationship that I arrived at a conclusion and then told Nancy about it. I’ll tell you about the first time tomorrow.

Recently, some of you have asked me about hearing from God, about knowing what’s God and what’s something else.

For me, most often, the hearing from God is not about moving toward a promise, about doing something because we’re told what the result will be.

Do this and you’ll be successful.
Say this and you’ll have favor.
Go here enough times and there will be wells of water.

Most often, I think, there are tiny nudges or small bits of clarity. “Go that way. Read this. Go ahead and decide that.” And within that step, eventually, is the next. Like discovering chaplaincy a couple weeks before leaving the church.

(More tomorrow)