Genesis 22:6-14
So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, Isaac turned to Abraham and said, “Father?” “Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “We have the fire and the wood,” the boy said, “but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?” “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together. When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. At that moment the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the LORD will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”
Yesterday, we talked about the excruciating pain that Abraham must have felt as he was on his way to sacrifice his son to God. We saw that even though the situation was as painful as it could have been, Abraham trusted God. He placed his faith in God.
I think we all understand that it would be naïve of us, after studying God’s word, to think that serving God is easy. God promises us a great reward in Heaven but readily admits that the path to get there is hard and narrow and few ever find it. Furthermore, as we see time and time again, placing our faith in God ensures that it will be tested. Faced with these kinds of trials, many may find this life of faith less than compelling. Multitudes of people loved Jesus when he fed them and healed them but ultimately rejected the call He placed on their lives. They checked out when it got uncomfortable. They went back home when it got painful. Here in 2012, we have a tendency to do the same thing. Understand this:
The more we live for ourselves, the less capable we are of living for God.
If Abraham had let his own selfish desires sabotage his faith in this situation, God would not have used him as he did. As we’ve discussed before, he would have been trading his eternal reward for the temporary pleasures of life on earth.
It comes down to this: Abraham chose to obey God no matter the cost. Because of that, God used him to change the world. He can do the same with our lives if we can learn to trust Him and Him alone in our most painful moments.
May our faith grow as we face the unthinkable.
