The Vine: September 9, 2026
Our fresh take on The Vine, a devotional based on the upcoming Sunday’s sermon. This is a tool for you to dive deep into specific verses of scripture and get acquainted with spiritual practices. This iteration of The Vine pairs perfectly with the pastors’ “First Glance Podcast.” The Vine: First Glance Podcast is when the pastors sit down to discuss the scripture for the upcoming sermon. It is a wonderful opportunity to prepare your mind and heart for the week ahead. We invite you to make this a part of your individual spiritual growth throughout the week.
“Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” Genesis 12:1
And Abram was 75 years old when God called him. Sarai was 65—and barren. By every human measure, their story was already written. The chapter of new beginnings was long closed. And yet God arrives with three sweeping promises: I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you. In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. These are not modest promises for a young couple with their whole lives ahead of them. These are breathtaking promises for an old man and his barren wife who had every reason to stop hoping.
Notice what God does not say. He does not tell Abram where he is going. He does not offer a map, a timeline, or even a guarantee of safe passage. He simply says, “Go.” Go from everything familiar—your country, your kindred, your father’s house. Go to a land that I will show you. Not a land I will describe to you in advance. A land I will show you as you go.
This is where faith becomes most honest. Eugene Peterson wrote, “We are secure not because we are sure of ourselves but because we trust that God is sure of us.” Abram could not have been sure of himself—not at 75, not with a barren wife, not heading toward a destination with no name. But God saw something in Abram and Sarai that they did not see in themselves. God had made a promise and invited them to step into it.
Most of us have a promise we have quietly set down. A sense of calling we once carried and eventually stopped believing in. A holy nudge or a dream we let go of because the timing seemed wrong, or we felt too old, or life simply got in the way. We thought to ourselves that it was wisdom—and perhaps it was. But sometimes what feels like wisdom is really just fear dressed up in reasonable clothes.
Abram and Sarai waited 25 years from the time God first promised them descendants until the birth of their son Isaac. Twenty-five years is a long time to hold on to a promise. But they held on—and God was faithful. Their story reminds us that God’s promises do not expire or need perfect circumstances. They require only this: the willingness to go to a land that God will show us, one step at a time.
Corrie ten Boom, who trusted God through unimaginable darkness in Nazi concentration camps, put it simply: “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” This journey of trust was the path of blessing for Abram and Sarai—and it is the same path of faith for us.
Spiritual Practice: Contemplative Prayer
Sit quietly for a few minutes with Genesis 12:1: “Go to the land that I will show you.” Read it slowly, several times. Then set the words down and simply listen. Ask God: “Is there somewhere you are calling me to go—a new direction, a renewed purpose, a step I have been afraid to take?” Do not rush toward an answer. Simply be present and open.
One Thing: Pick It Up Again
Write down one promise you have quietly set down. Bring it to God in prayer each morning this week. Ask simply: “Is this still yours for me, Lord?”
Questions for Consideration
God called Abram and Sarai at 75 and 65—well past the season of life when most people expect new beginnings. What does that tell you about how God sees your age, your stage of life, and your capacity for a new calling?
Eugene Peterson wrote that our security comes not from being sure of ourselves but from trusting that God is sure of us. Where in your own life do you find it hardest to trust that God is sure of you—especially when you are not sure of yourself?
What is one promise—from Scripture or a sense of calling—that you have quietly set down? What would it look like to pick it up again this week, even if only in prayer?
PREVIOUS WEEKS
To view all previous devotions go to https://fumc-rr.org/the-vine