The LORD said to Abram:

Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you. I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others. I will bless anyone who blesses you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you.

Abram was seventy-five years old when the LORD told him to leave the city of Haran. He obeyed and left with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and slaves they had gotten while in Haran.
When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram went as far as the sacred tree of Moreh in a place called Shechem. The Canaanites were still living in the land at that time, but the LORD appeared to Abram and promised, “I will give this land to your family forever.” Abram then built an altar there for the LORD. (Genesis 12:1-)

Just because you think you know what to expect from life, doesn’t mean you do. Abraham was an old man when God called Abraham from the city of Haran. By the world’s standards, his life was nearly done. It was past time to retire. He was just an ordinary man, living in the Middle East, one of millions of people alive on the planet in that day. And God decided to pick him. What made Abraham special was not who he was, but who God was. Abraham became extraordinary—even in his twilight years—because God chose him. God did not choose Abraham because he was extraordinary. God chose Abraham because he loved him.
The promise that God gave Abraham when he told him to pack up and move to what would someday be the land of Israel had no strings attached. Regardless of Abraham’s character or choices, God told him that he was going to become famous, he’d be happy, and his descendents would become a great nation. Moreover, he protected Abraham and those who would come in contact with him or his descendents: those who blessed Abraham would themselves be blessed, and those who cursed him would be cursed. God takes care of those who belong to him and woe to any who try to harm those God has chosen.

Abraham responds to the news by going where God told him to go, and by building an alter to God. Abraham didn’t know much about this God, but he decided to pay attention to him. God can use us no matter where we are in life.

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