Day 20

“Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about’.”   — GENESIS 22:2

When everything is going smoothly, it’s easy to become complacent in our walk with God. Then… bang! Something happens and our faith is tested.

Abraham recognized what his life was about; all the years of struggles and frustrations, waiting for a son through whom God promised would come a nation, and from that nation, the ‘Seed’ that would bless the world. He is now settled in the Promised Land with his promised heir and with all the storms of his life presumably behind him. Then God tells him to sacrifice his ‘only son Isaac whom you love’, as a burnt offering. 

A burnt offering symbolized giving up everything to God; past, present, future, all that he has, all that he is, and all he ever hoped to be, burned up and reduced to smoke!  Everything Abraham now stood for was vested in his son, Isaac, and God is saying, “It’s not just some bits and pieces of your life, Abraham. I am asking you for lock, stock and barrel. Put it on the altar, slay it and burn it.” This is a huge test, not only of Abraham’s obedience, but of his trust in God. If Isaac is sacrificed, where is the fulfillment of the promise?

A faith that cannot be tested is a faith that cannot be trusted. After years of ups and downs with God, Abraham had learned to both trust and obey. His obedience had not led to trust when he conceived Ishmael, but now that he has Isaac, he is faced with a situation where his obedience must lead him to trust. Without delay, ‘early the next morning’, Abraham set off with Isaac to the place God had told him to go, trusting, if necessary, as the writer to the Hebrews says later, “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead” (Hebrews 11:19).  Figuratively speaking, ‘he did receive Isaac back from death’, but not until he was fully ready to slay his son in obedience to God. 

God gives us many blessings: children, home, careers, but sometimes we allow those blessings to become a substitute for God in that our hopes and security lie in them and not in God. When that happens, a stern but loving hand may come from heaven and our faith is tested. As painful as that may be, we will find fresh liberty and assurance as we trust God in the testing. When we submit all to God, our circumstances become His responsibility. Once we’ve learned to trust and obey there are no other real issues to face.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, as my faith is tested, help me to have a trust in You that lets me walk an uncertain path with You, knowing my confidence is not in the journey, but in You.

TO REFLECT UPON: How has the testing of Abraham influenced me when I don’t understand what is happening in my life?