Do I Trust You?

“Some time later, God tested Abraham’s faith. “Abraham!” God called.‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘Here I am.’

‘Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.’

The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day of their journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. ‘Stay here with the donkey,’ Abraham told the servants. ‘The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.’

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.’

Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. ‘This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.’ Genesis 22:1-18

I’ve always struggled with this passage.  God promises Abraham many descendants, takes what seems like forever to make good on that promise, and then asks Abraham to give up that promise by killing his one and only son.  My struggle is that if put in the same situation, would I obey without argument like Abraham or would I fight and argue and plead for the life of my son?  Would I love and know God so much that I would trust Him and know He was doing what was best for me? For my son?

God and I have these conversations quite often. I know God has my best interests at heart and He sees the whole picture, but my feeble, weak heart argues that there has to be a better way.  It doesn't make sense.  I don't want to do it that way.  I think I know better than God. Oh to be like Abraham and just trust without argument that God's plan is perfect.

So, maybe we have to ask the question, “When faced with life’s challenges, are we going to waste time arguing with God about His ways or trust Him knowing His ways are better than ours?  My prayer is that we get to know our God so well and follow Him so closely that no matter what He allows in our life or challenges us to do, we will trust Him with complete confidence.

Here’s some great wisdom and insight from my friend, Brenda:

“Picture Isaac on the sacrificial altar. Now contemplate this. Sometimes what we think is going to kill us is actually where we find our salvation.” Brenda Storms

I love it!  It may be hard to see in the midst of troubles, but I pray we would trust God enough to know He is bringing about good in what may seem like a complete mess.  Whatever God asks of you, He will supply what you need so go ahead, obey with confidence, because He is loving you through it and bringing about something wonderful!  "I trust in you, O Lord; I say, 'You are my God.'"(Psalm 31:14)

Worshiping with you today,

Lisa