Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee.
—Genesis 12:1

It's a good thing that God doesn't consult our past to determine our future. If He did, Abraham's family background that included serving strange gods (Joshua 24:2) would have kept him from becoming the father of the Jewish nation. God chose Abraham and his descendants to fulfill His purpose and design despite their heathen past, and He does the same in our lives.

However, opening the door to our future requires shutting the door to our past. God promised He was going to bless Abraham, make his name great, and establish a nation through his offspring, but Abraham failed to first leave his "kindred" as God instructed. He needed to make a break with his family mentality, but he had an affinity for his nephew Lot and let him tag along. He did not shut the door to the past.

Lot became Abraham's sin, and until He separated from Lot, God could not speak to him. Before Abraham could inherit the promises of God and fully step into his destiny, he had to get Lot out of his life. He could not hold on to this old association. Some things had to be broken in order for Abraham to become the man of destiny we honor today.

Strife always comes when there is disobedience in our lives. For Abraham, there was nothing but heartache and headache that came with Lot—strife, envy, and a self-seeking spirit. Lot brought confusion. Eventually, the only way to resolve the strife and contention was for them to part company (Genesis 13:8–9).

The same is true today. There are some people whom you need to let walk right out of your life. God's Word tells us, "Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners" (1 Corinthians 15:33). You become a product of who and what you are around. If you hang around with empty, vain people like Lot, you will not be empowered for blessing or able to succeed.

Once Lot was gone, God came to Abraham and said, "Lift up now thine eyes, and look" to the north, the south, the east, and west, and promised him all the land his eyes could see and years of pleasure and prosperity (vss. 14–17). Obedience is what God desires and blesses—more than any sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22).

Start moving toward those who are walking in truth and moving toward the same destiny you believe God is calling you to pursue. Trust God to strategically align your life with the right people so that you might move fully into the destiny He designed for you!