“About face! Forward, march!”

Watch a group of service members in formation. Do you see a ragtag group of men and women trudging along a path? No. You see a disciplined team marching together, careful that every step is in sync. As the group marches, they are careful to listen to the superior call out commands from the front of the formation.

God Almighty visited ninety-nine year old Abraham and issued this command: “Walk before me, and be blameless.” Did God mean “toe the line and do not make a mistake”? From now on would God walk behind Abraham to make sure he did not fall out of formation? Did he expect Abraham to be perfect? Was he going to hover and make sure there were no missteps? Please hear me when I say that God is not an overbearing commander waiting to yell in your ear when you blunder.

God’s deepest desire for Abraham was that he would live his life so that every step he took was in sync with God’s will. His desire was for the natural direction of Abraham’s inner compass to point toward God’s presence, promises, and demands.

God ordered Abraham to live a blameless life. Are you kidding? Who does that? “Blameless” sounds lofty and unattainable. But perfection is not what God asked or required of Abraham. When God commanded Abraham to live a blameless life he asked him to enjoy a wholeness of relationship with him. In other words, if Abraham fully surrendered his life to following God he would be whole and complete. Abraham’s life was not to be lived in fragmented pieces—one part God, one part culture, one part what he wanted to do when he wanted to do it. His life was to be wholly committed to God and God’s purposes—and promises.

Do you feel out of step with God and his purposes today? Do you tend to look at life as compartmentalized into secular and spiritual? God wants your relationship with him to be whole and complete. His word to you today is, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.”

When my husband was assigned to the School Brigade at Fort Benning, Georgia, he regularly attended the graduation for the Drill Sergeant School. The ceremonies always brought a smile to his face as he watched young soldiers accept greater leadership responsibility. He described the scene as transformational. During a typical graduation a soldier would timidly step on to the stage. There was nothing special about the soldier’s carriage or countenance. The everyday camouflage cover was removed from the head and a drill sergeant hat donned in its place. That’s when it happened: transformation. The soldier would stand taller, chest thrust out further, leaving the stage with purpose and determination. The new title, “Drill Sergeant,” signaled a new era in the life of this soldier.

Thus far on our journey with Abraham, we have seen God call Abraham to respond to a promise and affirm that the promise would come. Now God guarantees the promise in covenant with Abraham. In this act (and an earlier encounter in Genesis 15:7–21), God made a formal and legally binding pledge, or grant, that he would guarantee his promise to Abraham and his offspring.

God made this promise to Abraham when he first left Ur, but in this scene it is as if Abraham finally grasped the concept. He fell on his face before God as a sign of acceptance of God’s command. A new era was signaled when God said, “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations” (Genesis 17:5).

In biblical times names were much more than identification labels. They signified a person’s character or destiny. This change in name for Abraham (and soon for Sarah), symbolized the internal change that had taken place. The names were changed by God himself and represented God’s seal on their future in his divine plan. As they walked closer to God, their priorities changed, and so did their role in history.

An encounter with God Almighty changes a person. How have you changed since becoming a Christ-follower? What steps are you taking to keep your relationship with God growing strong?

Perhaps you have seen clever birth announcements from military families. Such creative notices of a new addition bring a smile to my face. For instance:

“Reporting for Duty (projected date of birth).”

“I’m being promoted to big sister/brother.” (Sign held by older child.)

“The Jenkins family will have a new recruit (projected date of birth).”

The announcement from the three strangers who visited Abraham’s camp that a child would be born to Abraham and Sarah did not just bring a smile—it brought a guffaw of laughter. Honestly, can you blame Sarah for laughing? That sure would be my response if I was a ninety-plus year old woman.

Sarah’s laughter was met with one of the greatest statements in Scripture: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Such words challenge the core of faith. The words held no rebuke, but were rather a gentle reminder that God knew Sarah’s name, as well as her thoughts, and he—and only he—was able to bring such an impossible event to pass.

Through this unusual visit Sarah was drawn into full ownership of her part in the covenant promise. For Sarah to become pregnant was not reasonable, but faith transcends reason. Although her body was no longer naturally capable of becoming pregnant, God extended a personal invitation for her to become the mother of nations. A door of hope for the future was opened to Sarah that day, and it should bring a smile to each of our faces. That door of hope remains open for each of us through Christ, the ultimate fulfillment of the promise to Abraham.

Has God ever led you to do something you thought was impossible? Are you facing something that seems impossible today? “Is anything too hard for God?” is not meant to be a verse we claim in order to change our circumstances. God can certainly change circumstances, but sometimes the toughest thing for us is to accept our circumstances and grow through them.

“If it were not for _______________, I would never have made it as a military wife.”

Does a name, or names, immediately come to mind when you look at this blank? Without hesitation, I would write the name Sandra. Sandra taught me about the fundamentals of military life. I learned from her gracious example, as well as her responses to my myriad questions. The most important thing she taught me, however, was how to care for people in my sphere of influence. Sandra was the wife of the battalion commander at my husband’s first military assignment. She introduced herself the day we moved into military quarters. Soon afterward, she invited me to meet with her each week to pray for the military families in the battalion. In retrospect, I’m not sure what I expected from a commander’s wife, but I can say with conviction that prayer meetings were not on the list.

Sandra’s call to prayer illustrates a Christian principle: Christian maturity exhibits itself in caring for people. Abraham’s request of God to spare the city of Sodom was a good indicator that his relationship with God was growing. The situation in Sodom was beyond serious. The strangers who had just announced the wonderful news about the birth of a baby now announced horrific news about the destruction of a city. Abraham did not want to accept God’s plan for such severe judgment. There were people in the city. He had relatives in that city—remember Lot?

Here we see a baffled Abraham standing before a patient God who was waiting for Abraham to intercede on behalf of people in crisis. Abraham found his voice. This time he did not use it to lie about the identity of his wife, or laugh because he could not believe he would be a father. He used his voice to petition God on behalf of the needs of others. At first, he seemed a little hesitant to make such a request of God, but his tentative appeal became bolder as he asked for mercy even if only ten righteous people were to be found in the city.

Sadly, there were not even ten, but because of Abraham, Lot and his family were escorted out of town before the destruction came. Your prayers on behalf of others make a difference. Who will eventually write your name in their blank?

Do you regularly pray for the service members and families in your husbands military unit? Is there someone who would join you in praying together consistently?