June 11 I Friday

Ezra 1-2

John 19:23-42

“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 that I will show you.’”  —Genesis 22:2

There may be times when we feel God makes us promises, but He does not seem to follow through with them. In the book of Genesis, God called Abraham when Abraham was 75 and his wife, Sarah, was 65 to leave, go where God was calling them and God would make Abraham into a great nation. Abraham and Sarah waited for ten years, but nothing happened. This left Sarah to devise her own plan, and she told her husband to sleep with her maidservant, Hagar, to help produce an heir. Hagar gave birth to a son, Ishmael, who was not only a consequence of Abraham’s disobedience, but also of Abraham’s attempt to do the will of God by human resources. Then 15 years went by until God finally gave Abraham his promised son, Isaac, who would carry the family’s lineage. Altogether, it took a total of 25 years after God made the initial promise to Abraham for the promise to come to pass. 

      A number of years later, God tested Abraham by telling him to sacrifice Isaac as a burnt offering on Mount Moriah. Abraham left early the next day with Isaac on a three-day journey to the top of Mount Moriah. Abraham took wood, built an altar, bound up Isaac, and laid him on the altar. Just as Abraham was about to kill Isaac, an angel of the Lord said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy. 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” (Genesis 22:12). Unlike the last time, when Abraham was impatient with God and produced Ishmael by his own means, Abraham exercised obedience and trust in the Lord to bring His promises to pass. 

      When we are tested by God, the issue is not “Do we trust God?” but “Can God trust us?” In other words, can God trust us to do what He has called us to do? Can God trust us to trust Him to the very end? 

      In the New Testament, the Father knew the day would come when His Son would hang on a Roman cross with His resources depleted, and cry the most anguished words that have ever been said: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46). Despite everything, Jesus trusted in God, relying on the Father who had the power to raise Him to life on the third day. 

      Is God testing us at the moment? The God of the day is the God of the night; it is in the night that we panic, but the dawn will come.

Prayer: Lord God, You alone do I trust to bring Your promises to pass. Help me to remain faithful to what You have called me to do. Thank You, Lord.