Abraham Tested 1
This morning I read the story of God testing Abraham’s faith by telling him to offer his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. It’s found in Genesis 22. This account has been called one of the greatest acts of obedience in recorded history. It is the story of a man who waited 25 years to have a son only to be told a few years later to offer him as a sacrifice, and Abraham obeyed. In reality, God was not after the sacrifice of Isaac but the obedience of Abraham; and He got what he wanted. Here are four things I noted as I read the story:
- First, expect your faith to be tested. It happens to all of God’s followers and no one is exempt.
- Second, don’t expect to like or understand everything that is involved in the test. Tests are often very confusing and uncomfortable.
- Third, they do have purpose: to deepen our faith, to refine our character and to build a stronger endurance in our will (see James 1:2-4 for the details)
- Fourth, God will provide the answer; the test will end.
If you are going through a ‘faith-testing’ experience right now, I suggest reading the story of Abraham and drawing strength from it. I did.
Tim
Hey Tim, I’m commenting on this because I used your post on pride yesterday in our family prayers and discussion last night. Mostly in reference to the tragedy in Haiti and how we need to try and remember that we are no better than the thousands of people suffering there. Then later with my oldest daughter we were discussing faith and I used the Abraham story as an example of what God is asking us to do when we put our faith in him. So I just wanted to say thank you, these posts are a valuable part of my day and I appreciate you taking the time to do them. I hope more people find this to be true as well.
Sincerly,
Dustin