The Faith and Obedience of Abraham: Is This Your Story, Too?

I have read the book of Genesis a number of times, but yesterday, I think I began to really understand why Abraham is listed in the “Faith Hall of Fame” in Hebrews 11. I don’t know, but the words just seemed to jump off the page at me. God spoke to Abraham and told him to offer up his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering.  Genesis 22:3 (ESV) says, “So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him”. As crazy as that may have sounded to him, Abraham obeyed. Here are a few observations I made (and questions I asked myself) when reading the account of the offering of Isaac:

1   Abraham knew it was God talking to him. Do I recognize God’s still small voice every time He speaks?

2   Abraham rose early to do this “crazy thing” that God told him to do. Do I obey God’s voice immediately? While God encourages us in His Word to pray (without ceasing) and fast, I think it is important to notice that it does not say that Abraham fasted and prayed. While seeking wise counsel is also advised in the Bible (Proverbs 11:14, 12:15), this portion of Scripture does not say that Abraham consulted with his wisest advisors on whether that would be a good move make.  The Word does not say that Abraham developed a 30-day strategic plan to accomplish this task.  The Word says in Genesis 22:2 “He said, ‘Take your son, your only son, Isaac . . .’, and in the next verse, Genesis 22:3, it reads, “So, Abraham rose early. . .”

3   Abraham obeyed regardless of his feelings. While the Word does not tell or even imply how Abraham may have felt when God told him to offer up Isaac, in verse 2, it does say, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love. . .” With that said, I think it is safe to say that Abraham was not tickled pink about this whole thing, but he did what God said. I must ask myself, “Do I grapple over how I ‘feel’ before I even think about obeying God?” While He loves us with this unfathomable love, He expects us to obey Him, period.

4  Abraham’s obedience brings new meaning to Proverbs 3:5, 6 (ESV), which says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths”.  You see, as we follow Abraham down this path of obedience, we see Isaac wondering where is the lamb for the burnt offering. Genesis 22:8 says”Abraham said, ‘God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.’ So they went both of them together.” This is my opinion, but I do not think Abraham had a clue as to what God was going to do, he just obeyed and trusted that God with the rest.  God did provide.  I have to be honest, while I desire to obey and have the faith of Abraham, as one who is always planning and looking ahead, I struggle with just trusting and obeying. What about you?

      What I have learned is that this kind of faith comes by walking closely with God. As we spend time with God in His Word (reading, studying, and applying), we get to know Him. We learn of His love for us. We learn of His power, His sovereignty, His promises, and His All-Around Awesomeness. We begin to know him as Abba or Father or most affectionately, Daddy. Think about God’s idea of the relationship between a Father and his child.  You know that they love one another and the child always wants to please his daddy without argument. The child trusts his daddy and knows that Daddy will always protect him and would never tell him to do anything that would harm him or others. May we all be encouraged to draw close to Our Father in Heaven.

So, This is Working for My Good, God? Part II

You know when bad times come or there is a death in your family and a friend says, "I'll pray for you" or "You're in my prayers"? Do you ever wonder, what are people saying in their prayers during those times? Are they really praying at all or is it just something nice to say? Is God really listening? Well, I realized that people do indeed pray during those times and I found out just what kind of God I had been serving all these years. I do not know exactly what people were praying, but Matthew 18:20 (KJV) says, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them".  I know for a fact that my mother, my aunt, my brothers, as well as my in-laws were praying for us.  I know that my best friend and her prayer partners were praying for us. I also know that our Sunday School classes (mine and my husband's) were praying for us as well as countless others. So, I know that Jesus Christ was in their presence as they were praying and Romans 8:34 says that He also intercedes for us in prayer. My Savior knew I was seriously struggling with whether or not He was worth serving and so, the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to see that while this was an extremely difficult thing to deal with, He still loved me, He had not abandoned me through all of this, and He was (and still is) good!  Our family, friends, church family, and even people we did not know stepped up to be the loving arms of Jesus by taking our kids on play dates, transporting our children to and from their activities, preparing delicious meals ( I must say, these people of the Palouse are some of the most amazing cooks this side of the Mississippi!), sending cards and flowers, making gifts in remembrance of our precious twins, making phone calls, and sharing kind words of encouragement among other things.

My eyes were also opened to another fact. While I do recall experiencing some back pain a couple of days prior to finding out about our twins' passing, I did not experience any cramping or bleeding that would have alerted me that "something was not right". The night before the appointment, my husband was up late trying to complete a take-home exam between vomiting sessions of our middle child, and so we had contemplated not driving an hour and a half to the appointment, by my husband was convinced that we should. My next OB appointment was not scheduled for another 2-3 weeks. Had we not gone to this appointment, my life could have also been in jeopardy as I would have been carrying  lifeless babies in my womb and infection could have set in. . .but praise be to God who was looking out for me. . .looking out for us!  After I was made aware of that, the Holy Spirit continued to show me instance after instance of His goodness.

So, while that was an extremely difficult thing to go through-I miss my babies and I look forward to seeing them one day-He showed me in so many ways (more than I can write about in this post) that He is good and allowing us to experience this loss was indeed for my good. And then 14 months later, He blessed us beyond belief. . .

How's that for God's goodness?! 

O give thanks unto the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endureth for ever. . .Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!

Psalm 107:1, 21