Looking to God

“Abraham answered, ‘God himself would provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.’ Abraham looked up and there in the thicket he saw a ram.” Gen 22:8, 13

The story of Abraham and Isaac is full of Christian principles for which we can apply to our own lives. One of the most powerful principles is God’s promise of being our Provider in all things. Abraham’s example of following God’s lead down to the last detail highlights his obedience to God and his faith in His provider. We see the actions on Abraham’s part in Genesis but we are told the reasoning behind his actions in Hebrews 11:17-19.

“By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promise was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.”

Several treasures may be mined from our spiritual landscape this morning. The first treasure involves recognizing God’s provision. Abraham had already surmised that God’s provision would be a lamb. What if Abraham had scanned the horizon for only a lamb? It could have been the difference between life and death for his son. He kept an open mind and eye out for whatever God sent as a provision, thus recognizing the ram as a God-send. We cannot be narrow-minded regarding the provisions of God, but must be willing to receive His assistance through any means He sends.

The second treasure involves understanding that God will test us even to the point of contradicting a revelation He had already given us. Nonetheless, our obedience is paramount in deepening our intimacy with God. The instruction from God may not make sense but we must reason that God is God, and His power and wisdom are sovereign above everything.

Looking back to only a few weeks ago, it was God who placed Hospice in my mind when I had no where else to turn regarding my father-in-law. Hospice was my ram caught in the thicket that I recognized as His provision. I ‘reasoned’ that God would use Hospice to sort things out but God did something much greater for Bud – He raised him from his earthly body and gave him a spiritual body.

When we cry out to the LORD, we must keep a spiritual openness to recognize the manner in which God will deliver us from our circumstances. We must allow God the right to test our faith and focus on Him instead of our dark circumstances. We must reason and accept by faith that what God has ordained is for His divine purpose.

…Abraham looked up and there … he saw…