Genesis 22: 9-14- “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 the 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 in a 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 the place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
I remember the first time that I heard this particular Bible story. I couldn’t comprehend that God would even ask Isaac to sacrifice his son. Because I couldn’t get past that, I never paid much attention to the rest of the story.
Recently, I was doing a devotional, and these verses came up. This time, I looked past the part of the story that I didn’t like and that I couldn’t make sense of. I dove deeper in.
Like Abraham, we are all thrust into trials, life choices and decisions that we never thought that we would have to make. Like Abraham, we want to do the right thing. Sometimes, the right choice isn’t the most obvious choice. Sometimes, the choice that God has asked us to make is the exact opposite of what seems like the right choice on the surface and the choice that we want to make.
I can only imagine the thoughts, emotions and second guesses that were running through Abraham’s mind as he walked up that mountain with his son. And yet, Abraham was willing to do what the Lord asked Him even though it made no sense to him at all. Even though he knew the choice would kill his son and leave him absolutely devastated, he walked up the mountain.
Choosing to follow God’s will instead of your logic is such a hard thing to do. What we have to continually remember is that God will provide.
God will provide the help we need when we are hurting. God will provide the answers that we are seeking when we are questioning what is going on around us. God will provide for us financially when things look bad. God will provide for us emotionally when we are overwhelmed.
But to get to God’s provision, we have to be willing to do what God has asked us to do, even if it logically makes no sense.
To get to God’s provision, sometimes we have to walk up the mountain of the unknown. Sometimes we have to walk through the uncertainty to get to the answer.
The ram was there, at the exact right moment, caught in the branches. The Lord provided.
The Lord provides on His time, not ours. The Lord didn’t step in until He had to. God could have stepped in at any time, but He didn’t. He wanted Abraham to learn that He is faithful. He wanted Abraham to learn that He will provide for ALL of his needs. He wanted Abraham to see how much He loved him.
The Lord’s timeline is perfect, even if it seems like ‘just in the nick of time’ to us.
We have to start trusting that God put us on this planet for a purpose. We have to start trusting that God WILL provide when the world is saying that it’s a lost cause. God can do anything! He is all powerful and loves you.
Need strength? Ask God. He provides it.
Need help?
Need answers?
God loves you so much and will provide the help that you need. It’s going to be on His timeline and we have to let go of this idea of ‘control’ that we have over a situation.
The thing that I admire the most about Abraham in this passage is his utter determination to follow God, no matter what it meant for him or his son Isaac. This doesn’t mean that Abraham didn’t struggle with his decision to do what God told him to do. This doesn’t mean that Abraham didn’t cry and beg God to change His mind. What it does mean is that Abraham was willing to trust the life of his son to God completely. What amazing faith Abraham had.
Trusting God, no matter the circumstance, is where you find freedom. Trusting that God will always provide, even if it doesn’t look like you want it, or when you want it, will give you so much peace in your life.
So, how do you learn to trust God? First, go to Him in prayer and talk to Him about your concerns. I like to write what I’ve asked God for down and put a date beside it. Relentlessly ask God about your concerns and pray for discernment, healing and a deeper relationship with Him. Pray that he teaches you a lesson with the situation and that you can use that lesson to help others. Then, slowly but surely you will start to feel God in the situation, you will start to know that He is with you. No matter the outcome, you can trust that it was in God’s plan. Even if it’s the exact opposite of what you wanted, God will give you peace about it.
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