Tag: Isaac

Take Care Not to Rush. Wait on the Lord.

Galatians 4:22
For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.

Even though Abraham was approaching 100 years old and Sarah was approaching 90 years old, Almighty God promised that He would supernaturally open the womb of Sarah and upon the seed of Abraham He would build the nation of Israel. But Sarah and Abraham lost faith in the supernatural promise, so they sought natural, manipulated means to help God’s plan. Sarah allowed Abraham to sleep with their pagan slave, Hagar. Through the natural union of Abraham and Hagar, Ishmael was born. Thirteen years later, God supplied the supernatural birth of Isaac to Abraham and Sarah.

Because God promised Abraham he would raise up great nations through him, God had to allow Ishmael to be a great nation. But because Ishmael was the product of the natural process, there was no covenant with the nation of Ishmael. In fact, God told Abraham that “Ishmael will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; and he will live to the east of all his brothers.” The conflicts in the middle east today are the result of Abraham taking matters into his own hands.

The only covenant that God honored was the one that was of the supernatural process that He had revealed to Abraham. It was through the bloodline of Isaac that God built up the apple of His eye, Israel.

Let us take great care not to rush ahead of God when He has a plan for our lives. Let us seek the measures that God has set aside for our lives. Let us wait on the Lord for He will honor that which He blesses.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the many promises that You have given us. We rejoice in knowing that You have a special plan for each of us. We pray, Lord, for the wisdom to wait on You. We ask for the Holy Spirit to guide us and instruct us in accordance with Your perfect will for our lives. We ask all these things in the name of the Keeper of Our Promises, Jesus Christ.

God Will Always Provide a Way

Genesis 22:2
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.”

Did anyone, other than Jesus Himself, have to endure a greater test than Abraham? Can you imagine yourself standing over a loved one, especially your child, with knife in hand? Can you picture yourself ready to offer him or her as a living sacrifice? Can you even conceive of the idea that you would have gotten as far as picking up the knife?

To have to end the life of your child by the act of your own hand, who could endure such a test? Only a person of unfathomable faith in the promises of God could stand up to such a trial. When Abraham headed up the mountain with Isaac, he held the promise from God that God would make Abraham a great nation. Abraham believed that the promise could not be fulfilled without Isaac.

Abraham makes two comments that indicate that he faced his trial girded by faith in God’s promises. The first confirmation of his faith came when he saw the place of sacrifice from afar. He told the servants that had joined him and Isaac, “Stay here with the donkey. I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” The second confirmation of his faith came when Isaac asked where was the lamb for the sacrifice. Abraham responded, “God will provide the lamb for Himself for the burnt offering, my son.” And so it was that Abraham became a great nation as he stood with his knife ready, waiting in faith for His God to fulfill His promises.

God will test each of us. He wants us to build up our faith in Him. He wants us to live with complete confidence that He will provide all that we need to endure that which we may feel is unbearable.

Let us take strength from the story of Abraham and Isaac. Let us rejoice in knowing that God will always provide a way for us to fulfill the plan that He has for our lives and for the lives of those that we serve.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for covering us in the many promises of comfort, provision and strength that You have revealed to us in Your Holy Word. Test us, O Lord, to build our faith in who You are. Strengthen us, O Lord, that we may pass the tests that prepare us for our place in Your eternal kingdom. Comfort us as we endure the trials. Build up in us the faith of Abraham. May we rejoice in seeing the fruits of our faith. We ask all these things in the name of the Author of Our Faith, Jesus Christ.

Unfathomable Faith in the Promises of God

Genesis 22:2
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.”

Did anyone, other than Jesus Himself, have to endure a greater test than Abraham? Can you imagine yourself standing over a loved one, especially your child, with knife in hand? Can you picture yourself ready to offer him or her as a living sacrifice? Can you even conceive of the idea that you would have gotten as far as picking up the knife?

To have to end the life of your child by the act of your own hand, who could endure such a test? Only a person of unfathomable faith in the promises of God could stand up to such a trial. When Abraham headed up the mountain with Isaac, he held the promise from God that God would make Abraham a great nation. Abraham believed that the promise could not be fulfilled without Isaac.

Abraham makes two comments that indicate that he faced his trial girded by faith in God’s promises. The first confirmation of his faith came when he saw the place of sacrifice from afar. He told the servants that had joined him and Isaac, “Stay here with the donkey. I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” The second confirmation of his faith came when Isaac asked where was the lamb for the sacrifice. Abraham responded, “God will provide the lamb for Himself for the burnt offering, my son.” And so it was that Abraham became a great nation as he stood with his knife ready, waiting in faith for His God to fulfill His promises.

God will test each of us. He wants us to build up our faith in Him. He wants us to live with complete confidence that He will provide all that we need to endure that which we may feel is unbearable.

Let us take strength from the story of Abraham and Isaac. Let us rejoice in knowing that God will always provide a way for us to fulfill the plan that He has for our lives and for the lives of those that we serve.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for covering us in the many promises of comfort, provision and strength that You have revealed to us in Your Holy Word. Test us, O Lord, to build our faith in who You are. Strengthen us, O Lord, that we may pass the tests that prepare us for our place in Your eternal kingdom. Comfort us as we endure the trials. Build up in us the faith of Abraham. May we rejoice in seeing the fruits of our faith. We ask all these things in the name of the Author of Our Faith, Jesus Christ.

Take Great Care Not to Rush Ahead of God

Galatians 4:22
For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.

Even though Abraham was approaching 100 years old and Sarah was approaching 90 years old, Almighty God promised that He would supernaturally open the womb of Sarah and upon the seed of Abraham He would build the nation of Israel. But Sarah and Abraham lost faith in the supernatural promise, so they sought natural, manipulated means to help God’s plan. Sarah allowed Abraham to sleep with their pagan slave, Hagar. Through the natural union of Abraham and Hagar, Ishmael was born. Thirteen years later, God supplied the supernatural birth of Isaac to Abraham and Sarah.

Because God promised Abraham he would raise up great nations through him, God had to allow Ishmael to be a great nation. But because Ishmael was the product of the natural process, there was no covenant with the nation of Ishmael. In fact, God told Abraham that “Ishmael will be a wild donkey of a man, His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; and he will live to the east of all his brothers.” The conflicts in the middle east today are the result of Abraham taking matters into his own hands.

The only covenant that God honored was the one that was of the supernatural process that He had revealed to Abraham. It was through the bloodline of Isaac that God built up the apple of His eye, Israel.

Let us take great care not to rush ahead of God when He has a plan for our lives. Let us seek the measures that God has set aside for our lives. Let us wait on the Lord for He will honor that which He blesses.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank You for the many promises that You have given us. We rejoice in knowing that You have a special plan for each of us. We pray, Lord, for the wisdom to wait on You. We ask for the Holy Spirit to guide us and instruct us in accordance with Your perfect will for our lives. We ask all these things in the name of the Keeper of Our Promises, Jesus Christ.