Have you ever spent much time thinking about Abraham and Isaac, and God's wild request?
I've been considering it a lot lately...In Genesis 22 we find God telling Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as an offering. What must Abraham been thinking? Why would God ask such an audacious task after promising to make Abraham the father of many nations? How could sacrificing his only son support that promise? Did it make God untrustworthy? Or did Abraham believe so deeply and that God could bring Isaac back to life? Or would give him more offspring?
And consider Isaac!! How innocently it seems to sound, "where is the lamb?" in verse 7. Did his blood pressure rise as they were building the altar? He definitely would have known what the plan was as his father started tying him. "I thought he loved me!" "How could he?!" "This doesn't make any sense!" Or did he share a faith like his father's and trusted in the Almighty?
We don't know exactly what went through their minds, but we can relate. Sometimes we feel God asking us to step out in faith that looks WILD to anyone else. It can feel scary and stressful. "Leave my job?!" "Start a business?!" "Believe for complete healing?!" Maybe the instructions are as simple as "Make the phone call" or "Forgive" or "Reconcile." Either way our own understanding cannot fathom how the instructions could possibly fit God's plan. How can we possible walk through these hard circumstances?
In these moments our desire is to run back to safety, to comfort. We think that there's no way God could possibly mean to "x, y or z." As a mom, I'm practically screaming inside to Abraham to TURN AROUND, go back! God couldn't possibly have meant this!
"So Abraham called the name of that place, 'The LORD will provide.'" Genesis 22:14
What we do know from the text is what Abraham did and truly what God did. In his tremendous trust in God, Abraham was prepared to truly offer his son in worship. Of course we know that God ultimately provided the ram in the bush just like Abraham told Isaac--"the Lord will provide" (v8). He saw the incredible faith in Abraham (I'd argue in Isaac too!) and made provision where there was none, making "rives in the desert" (Isaiah 43:19) by sending the ram to sacrifice instead. Seeing this story to completion we better understand the verses that tell us to "trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5).
Do not lose hope, dear friend. As children of God, we too can hope in the Father to provide all that we need. If circumstances look terribly bleak and there's just not a way out, keep your eyes keenly focused on the only One who can do anything about it. Jesus promises in Matthew 6:32-33 that our Heavenly Father knows our need and promises fulfillment of it. It's just not always in our way or in our timing. And God didn't merely provide the ram that day, but He followed it up with a blessing in verses 16-18! Abraham won't just father nations now, but those nations will be blessed because of the obedience supported by his faith.
"Do not lose hope, dear friend."
Where is your "ram in the bush"? I wonder. What provision has God already provided and put into motion long ago to meet your needs now? What is He asking of you that feels too scary to even consider? Where are you being called out on faith?
Just because God is asking something of you personally, and though you are ultimately responsible for your own obedience, you do not have to walk it out alone! There are so many different possibilities out there--support group, church, therapy, coaching, and more! The best part of hiring a coach is that we'll strategize together, problem solve together, celebrate together. Schedule a Discovery Call today and learn how we can work together to help you walk in obedience, serving the Lord. Click here to schedule!