Begin your time today by getting quiet before the Lord.
Bible Reading
“Sometime later God tested Abraham. He said to him, ‘Abraham!’ ‘Here I am,’ he replied. Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love-Isaac-and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.’ Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, ‘Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then come back to you.
Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 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.’ And the two of them went on together.
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. 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. But an angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’ ‘Here I am,’ he replied. ‘Do not lay a hand on the boy,” 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 caught in the 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. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.'”
– Genesis 22:1-14
Devotion
Most parents are horrified when they first read this passage. How could God ask Abraham to sacrifice his son? Once again, we learn a lot about God and Abraham as we read this text. How could Abraham do such a thing? God’s faithfulness in the past allowed Abraham to have confidence in the future. How do we know this? Paul gives us this insight in Hebrews 11:19: “Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead…” Because God had revealed Himself to Abraham as God Almighty, Abraham trusted that if he sacrificed Isaac that God could bring him back from the dead.
What do you do when God doesn’t make sense? Pastor Bob recently said, “When you struggle to understand God’s ways continue to trust in His character.” Ultimately Abraham trusted in God who had already proven Himself to be faithful. When the winds of adversity begin to blow in your life, remember you have this Hope (Jesus) as an anchor for your soul.
The Big Question
Is your love relationship with God the most important thing in your life?
Conclude in prayer and silence reflecting on how God has revealed Himself to you today.