From trust to “What do you see?”
Martha Olawale
“And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: ‘Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.” Genesis 13:14-15
“What do you see?” This question kept popping into my mind as I went about my day, and the more I tried to push it away, the more it pressed in. I didn’t understand the power of a simple question like that, or how much it could rattle me. When I finally accepted that God was trying to teach me something, I sat down and asked, “What do you want me to see?”
I remember God telling Abraham something similar in Genesis 13, and reading the story helped me understand the question better. Abraham’s journey out of his father’s house didn’t begin with what he could see but with what God saw. The story began with God calling Abraham from his place of comfort and familiarity to embark on a journey that changed his life and the generations after him. It centered on his willingness and obedience. Genesis 12:1 says,
“Now the Lord had said to Abram:
“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.”
As I read that, I asked myself, “Why didn’t God ask Abraham what he saw then?” It was a command with no room for negotiation: “Get out!” The story makes clear that at the beginning of our walk with Him, or when we embark on a new assignment, God asks only one thing: trust (willingness and obedience). That was enough to count Abraham righteous and will serve as a staff to help the generations after him walk the long road of faith. Admonishing the Church, Paul quoted Genesis 15:6 in Galatians 3:6: “Just as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
It’s easy to tie the faith rope to God and expect Him to pull us. However, while our trust is the bedrock of walking with God, there are layers to solidifying our life and story in Him. God didn’t give Abraham any heads-up about the challenges ahead; His promise was enough. Despite God’s direct instruction to leave, Abraham still faced challenges: the Canaanites, the Egyptians, and famine. He knew fear even in obedience, to the point that he asked Sarai twice to deny being his wife.
One obstacle to living fulfilling lives is believing that when God says, ‘go,’ it should be a “Jesus, take the wheel” rather than a call for me to grow as I walk in obedience. Can you imagine the pain of having your only family walk out on you, as Lot did? Abraham faced the emotional detachment we all feel at some point, yet it didn't shake his faith in God or stop him from believing God's promise about what would come true.
Trust God to earn God’s trust
The beauty of that story is that God was with Abraham through it all. He didn’t renounce His promise just because Abraham had a lot to learn. Every trial shaped him into a better person. As he learned to trust God more, he also learned to navigate the complexities of his humanity and others’, until God could trust him enough to see for Himself what his future holds.
I’ve always needed to understand what I’m living for, fighting for, speaking for, or standing for. I even have to give meaning to the relationships I’m in, or I’m out. I am drawn to purpose, even if it brings me earthly discomfort, because I believe the only way to live is to honor my life as God says. The throbbing in my heart as I answered the question, “What do you see?” rattled me, but it didn't shake my allegiance to God or my absolute trust in going where He leads me.
Don’t just stand, walk the promise
Although the story didn’t end with Abraham seeing what God promised him and his descendants, it encouraged him and gave him, and the generations after him, zeal to keep fighting for God’s promises. God didn’t just tell him to look at and admire the promise; He told him to walk the promise. We are not bystanders in the story; we must walk what we see. In Genesis 13:17, God told Abraham, “Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.”
I embrace the encouragement God intends for me as I answer that question: look forward, not backward, so I can run toward where the story leads, not back to where it started. Accepting the charge to look ahead gives me the privilege of seeing what God sees in my tomorrow and acknowledging that He sustained me yesterday, so I can be more intentional and be strengthened for the journey ahead as I walk in what I see.
As long as you still have breath in your lungs and walk with God, the adventure of your story continues to unfold. The mountains before you aren’t insurmountable, and the wind isn’t too fierce to keep you from making your way along that road. Don’t focus on the past; look ahead to where the story leads and walk it: growth, relationships, the light after the dark alley, and the spring beneath the well. What we see shapes what we pursue, and what we pursue shapes what we live for. When we reach a season when, despite our trust in God, the weight feels too heavy to keep moving, God might ask us a question similar to the one He asked Abraham: “What do you see?”
