A Desert TransformedSample

The Lord will provide

Has the Lord ever asked you to give up something precious to you? 

In today’s reading God asks Abraham to offer up his son, Isaac – the son Abraham and Sarah had waited so long for. They’d called him Isaac to remind them how they’d laughed at the idea of being parents in their old age. Was that laughter now about to turn to mourning?

God is love, but sometimes faith is hard to understand. Why did God tell Abraham to sacrifice the very son He’d miraculously given him? Who knows what questions were raging in Abraham’s heart as he readied Isaac and himself for their trek into the wilderness? 

Heaven is hidden to us and although God has called us into partnership with Him, we only see glimpses of what is to come and our picture of what He is doing is blurred.

As we seek Him and grow in our ability to discern His voice, our insights become more accurate, but there is always the need to step out and trust because “faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). Sometimes He just wants us to trust and obey.

God does not call us to blindly obey, but to trust out of our heart knowledge of Him and His character. Abraham had been building this knowledge in his heart as he experienced God’s guidance and faithfulness through years of knowing Him. He didn’t understand why, but He did know God. So, when Isaac queried where the lamb was for the sacrifice, Abraham’s answer came from a heart that was at rest in God:

“God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” 

God says to you…

“Don’t be afraid, for I am wholly good and trustworthy in all my ways. I will never ask you to do anything that is wrong for you, but I will ask you to do things that will stretch you and cause you to put your faith in me. Your faith is the most precious gift you have ever received. Guard it carefully and use it with great joy and you will be amazed at what I will do for and through you.”