“After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 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.” (Genesis 22:1–3, ESV)
After these things God tested Abraham. One of the things we learn at some point in our lives with our Master, King Jesus, is that He test our loyalty from time to time. Perhaps a bit more often than we would desire, for sure, but it’s always with our best in mind.
Whether the tests of God are for our personal strengthening, or to promote us once we succeed, it is sure that no one really likes them! God seems to desire to reveal – both to us and to the world – the stuff we are made of. And in discovering that “stuff” we also seem to grow stronger and bolder after the process.
Yet, some tests are just too much. Consider this one. God called Abraham to, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”Yes, you read that right.
Now, on this side of the test, we know God had a ram in the bush and everything worked out fine. God wanted to see if Abraham could trust God enough with his last son, his only son now that Ishmael was gone into the wilderness.
Later, to the people of Abraham, God would explain such a test in these words, “I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20:5–6, ESV)
You too will endure tests of your faith. God wants us to demonstrate our loyalty to Him and Him alone – even above our precious children. The question today is simple, Will we choose God’s will and way over our most precious loves?If the answer is, “Yes!”then God’s blessing lies just around the corner, as Abraham discovered.
Faith Filled Fridays hope to boost your trust in God and accelerate your daring and courage in everyday life. Dr. Matthew Lee Smith, Executive Director of Eagles In Leadership, writes each encouragement out of a heart that has known both great joy and great loss – his wife of 38 years, 5 months and 2 days was promoted to Heaven on November 11, 2017. Through every experience, God has proven Himself more than faithful and trustworthy. He welcomes your comments below.
