Faith
O that unbelievers would learn of faithful
Abraham, and believe whatever is revealed from God, though they cannot fully
comprehend it! Abraham knew God commanded him to offer up his son, and
therefore believed. George Whitefield
If you have children, the story of Abraham
and Isaac is an amazing one. I was asked
a question that I really didn’t have the answer to, so I decided to turn to the
best source, the Bible.
Here is the question. “Why would God ask Abraham to sacrifice
Isaac? What would you do if God came to
you and asked you to sacrifice one of your children? Would you have faith enough in God to go
through with it? I think my biggest problem with understanding the Bible is
that I often rush through it like I do everything else in life. If we believe that God means and does what he
says, then digging deeper in His Word is the most important thing we can do to
understand Him and the way He works in our life.
In Genesis 17:19 God said, Sarah thy wife
shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will
establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed
after him.
In the above verse God told Abraham that his
wife Sarah would bear a son and call him Isaac.
An important part of the verse is “with his seed after him.” God was telling Abraham that He would
establish a covenant with Isaac and also Isaac’s children. If God said he was making a covenant with
Isaac and his seed after him then Isaac was not destined to die on an
altar.
In Hebrews 11:17-19 says that “By
faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received
the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, that in
Isaac shall thy seed be called: accounting that God was able to raise him up,
even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.” So if Abraham had faith in God to allow
Abraham to kill his only son, then he also had faith that God could raise him
from the dead if Abraham killed him.
I think the biggest struggle I have is the
understanding that I am human and God is not.
I keep trying to put God, a square peg so to speak, into a round hole. The thing is God just doesn’t fit what I in
my limited perspective and capacity can understand. I also believe that God knew what was to
come, Jesus dying on the cross to save us, and this was a foreshadowing of God
sacrificing His only Son just as Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac.
Abraham had more than 100 years of time with
God and he was faithful. I believe the
reason God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac was because he wanted to teach us
what faith really is and give us a picture of what our life should be
like. If we ever get that amount of
faith we won’t question why God does anything. If we understand that he does
all things for our good then we can be at peace knowing that He is a Great God
who wants what is best for His children.
Prayer for the Day:
Heavenly Father, my faith is small compared to Abraham’s. I think Abraham’s faith was to be used as an
example so that we could see a picture of what faith is in action. I often question Your hand in my life when
what I need most is to let go and let You lead.
Faith takes a step at a time and for a human like me, I am sometimes
scared to take a step out in faith. It
is choosing to step to the edge of a cliff and jump. Too many times we want a safety net. We want absolutes. If I take that step of
faith I want guarantees that You will be there to catch me. Help me to understand that You mean
“everything” for my good. If I can grasp
that one thing then I have received the blessing of wisdom. I praise You for opening my eyes to your
Scriptures and for giving me wisdom when I least expect it.
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