It's been over a week since I last posted, and I'm sorry for that. I've had a lot going on and really couldn't think enough to write something worth reading. But I'm back. And I want to talk to you about something that has really been shaping my life for the past month or so.
It's the story about Abraham.
I know, we've heard the story since we were little. Abraham and his wife Sarah were really old but they wanted a kid. This would have been great… if they weren't 80 years old! But, God gave them a child. And He told Abraham, from this child, you will be the father of nations. When Sarah heard that she was going to have a child at the age of 80, she laughed. Thereby, they had a child named Isaac (Isaac means laughter).
Abraham was given this child because he had been obedient.
He had moved away from his home in Urr promptly after God called him. He left everything to follow God. He was obedient.
Then God told him that he had to circumsize himself. Here, Abraham could have been like, "What? You made me move away from everything I know and now you want me to do THIS? That's too much, God." But, he didn't. Abraham again was obedient.
Then, and only then, did God give Abraham what he had been seeking. At age 80, God gave Abraham Isaac.
[Before Isaac, God told Abraham that he would be the father of nations, but Abraham and Sarah couldn't have children, so he tried to take it into his own hands, but that wasn't God's plan. See Genesis chapters 15-21, specifically Genesis 16 for his mistake]
Now, Abraham was the HAPPIEST father to ever live. He and his wife were childless, and finally, they had a child. Abraham loved and cherished Isaac and only wanted the best for Isaac. This was his SON, the hope he had been waiting for.
About twenty years passed.
Then God spoke to Abraham again and said something like, "Hey Abraha, that son I gave you, yeah Isaac, your only son, whom you love; I want you to give him back to me."
Abraham didn't falter in following God before, and when he was called to obedience again, he followed God. Abraham was up the next morning preparing to go and sacrifice his son because God asked him to. All that he had ever wanted was a son, and he was willing to give him up for God.
Skipping ahead, father and son are up on the mountain, son is about to be sacrificed, when an angel was sent to stop Abraham. In the face of fear and loss, Abraham had been obedient.
This story has been on my heart for the past few months. I am dumbfounded by Abraham's obedience. Not only did he listen to God, but he promptly obeyed.
I know this is something I struggle with almost daily. I'm called into obedience, but sometimes I am too scared to be faithful to God. My challenge to you is what is it that God's calling you to that you're not being obedient in? Do you have an "Isaac" in your life? Maybe something or someone that you are loving and cherishing… and maybe putting before God? I challenge you today to listen to God and have obedience in the face of fear. It's very, very difficult and painful, but God's plan is better than ours. He knows what he's doing. We can only obey and trust in our all-loving father.
