Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

From there he moved to the hill country on the east side of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.

And Abram journeyed on…

Genesis 12:7-9a

It’s been a while since I’ve reflected on these two wonderful verses. I love them because of their simplicity. God speaks to Abram, and Abram builds an altar – he turns to God in submission and worship. One verse later, Abram wants to hear from God and builds another altar – he turns to God in submission and worship.

The context of these verses is also amazing. Just a few verses earlier, Abram receives the promises from God that will define a whole nation and come to fulfillment in Jesus. But on the heels of these promises, what do we see? Abram didn’t have it all figured out. He got confused. He made mistakes. But he had one very important, defining trait. He was the kind of guy who turned to God. He had faith that God was God and it shaped his life. So when God speaks, Abram trusts it to be so. Perhaps Abram could turn to God in the big moments because he was already well trained in that posture and habit.

I also love these two verses because they’re so simple. God speaks. Does Abram do something profound? Not really. He just does the best he knows to do. He sets up a little pile of rocks and honors God. When he needs to hear from God – another little pile of rocks to posture himself in worship and surrender. It seems so menial and insignificant. But it was what Abram had to offer and he was willing to offer it. And it was enough.

Our Little Altars
The question I’d like to pose for all of us today is how we might adopt the same habit and posture of turning to God. Instead of waiting until the catastrophic moments when it’s do or die, can we practice turning to God and submitting ourselves to his reign over us day to day. Can we build up our capacity for humility and submission to him before the big moments come?

Let’s start here and now. If God has spoken to you recently, take some time today to reflect. Humble yourself in thankfulness and submission. Make your “altar” in whatever seems appropriate. And if you’re just seeking God today, needing to hear from him, do the same thing.

May worship and humility and submission come to define your journey day by day. You don’t need to have it all figured out. You don’t need to be perfect. But you need to become the kind of person who is always turning to God. He’ll take it from there the same as he did for Abram and so many others.