"I Love My Life"

As I was praying and having quiet time today, God laid on my heart to read Genesis 22: Abraham Tested. I have read this story a bunch of times, and every time have marveled at Abraham’s actions. This time, I was curious about Abraham’s emotions.

Genesis 22:1-2
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”

So here’s Abraham, who’s followed God’s callings on his life up until this point, and God, out of nowhere, decides Abraham needs to be tested. This is not a simple, easy, no-stress kind of test. No, this test would push Abraham to the very limits of his humanity because it encompasses emotional testing, physical testing, spiritual testing, plus it does not make logical, rational sense. Why would God ask Abraham to sacrifice the son that he so longed for, for many many years? It’s not like God doesn’t know what Isaac means to Abraham. He was there when Isaac was conceived. He walked with Abraham through the process. This is one of God’s creations. Why would he ask Abraham to sacrifice his only son, whom he loves? That’s insane.

It’s interesting to me that Abraham doesn’t question God back. He just does what God has told him to do. If I were Abraham, the entire night before going to the mountain, I would be questioning, crying out to God why He would ask this of me, what good would come from this situation, and how would he explain this to his wife? This is his own flesh and blood; he came from a situation where God blessed Abraham with this child in his old age. I would honestly, probably be telling God that He has made some sort of mistake, that this can’t be right, and try to rationalize away the command to sacrifice my son.

Genesis 22:7-8
Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”

These lines are so prophetic of the relationship between Jesus Christ and His Father. The faith and trust that Abraham had in God is incredible! Abraham still isn’t complaining or questioning; he is exemplifying what it means to obey God, even when it doesn’t make sense. At this point in the story, Abraham still is being submissive to what God has told him to do, not knowing what the outcome will be. He is trusting that God will show up, himself, and provide - no matter what.

Genesis 22:9-10
He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

Whenever I read this, I imagine it all as an action sequence. First they are hiking up the mountain with all of the supplies for the altar and offering. Then I imagine Abraham tying Isaac up. I wonder if Isaac would question his father or struggle, or would he just do as he was told? This whole situation is so intense because Abraham then has the knife in his hand, raised, ready to kill his child, all because God told him to.

Genesis 22:12-14
“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” [angel of the Lord] he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide.

Abraham did not withhold anything from God. God asked him to give up the One thing that was so dear to him, that he longed for, that he prayed for, that he waited for, and that he loved more than anything. The rest of this chapter depicts a blessing Abraham receives from God that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky and sand on the seashore.

Sometimes I think God will test us to see if we’re willing to give up things that we love. We won’t always be asked to give them up, but just that we are willing. It won’t be easy. It could not have been easy for Abraham to almost sacrifice his son, whom God had provided. What’s that one thing that God is asking you to sacrifice? I know for me, it’s more than just one thing.

Here’s the beauty in this story though. God doesn’t ask us to give up things just for the heck of it. If He asks you to sacrifice something, it is not only for your good and benefit, but He will replace it with something better — something far superior and surpassing anything that we could’ve filled ourselves with. A very personal example of this is relationships. If I try to push and pursue to make something right on my own, it always fails. Maybe not right away, but in the end. And I know that it was never God’s intention for me in the first place. However, only after I had given God complete control of that area of my life (and heart), could he replace my longing and desires with something so much more fulfilling and beautiful than what I had been trying to fill myself with. God gave me himself. Everyday, I get to have the opportunity to be completely in love with the one who created me, knows my thoughts, my passions, my dreams, my desires, and who always has my best interests in mind. I want His heartbeat to be my heartbeat, His breath to be my breath, my heart to be broken for what breaks His. Earthly relationships are great, but they pale in comparison to the relationship I have with Jesus.

If we are willing to give that One thing we hold so close up to God when He asks, we will be blessed.