God Leads Us through Our Decisions

Genesis 12:5 And Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his nephew... and they went out to go to the land of Canaan.

When God called Abram, he told him, “Go for yourself from your land... to the land which I shall show you” (Gen. 12:1). However, God never told Abram where exactly to go to. Thus, Abram “went out, not knowing where he was going” (Heb. 11:8). Abram had to obey God and keep walking until God showed him the land that he should dwell in.

God showed Abram that he should dwell in Canaan only after Abram had entered Canaan (Gen. 12:7). But how did Abram know to head for Canaan in the first place? The Bible gives us a clue by telling us that Abram’s father, Terah, originally intended to head for Canaan, but they ended up settling in Haran and never made it to Canaan until Terah died. (Gen. 11:31). Hence, it seems that Abram headed for Canaan because he wanted to fulfil his late father’s unfulfilled plans to travel to Canaan.

The words “Abram took” indicates that Abram was exercising leadership over his family and assets. However, more than 700 years later, God said, “I took your father Abraham... and I led him in all the land of Canaan.” (Josh. 24:3) While Abram made a conscious decision to head for Canaan, God was working through his decision in order to bring him to Canaan. That is why it could be rightly said that God “caused him to migrate into [Canaan]” (Acts 7:4).

God can lead us through our decisions and cause us to end up exactly where he wants us to be. As long as we are living according to God, we can rest assured, knowing that whenever we make a decision, we are being led by our sovereign and loving Heavenly Father.