“After all this, God tested Abraham. God said, “Abraham!” “Yes?” answered Abraham. “I’m listening.” He said, “Take your dear son Isaac whom you love and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I’ll point out to you.”
Genesis 22:1-2 MSG
Isaac said to Abraham his father, “Father?” “Yes, my son.” “We have flint and wood, but where’s the sheep for the burnt offering?” Abraham said, “Son, God will see to it that there’s a sheep for the burnt offering.” And they kept on walking together.”
Genesis 22:7-8 MSG
Good Morning Beautiful,
When we talk about Faith, we understand that it serves as our shield ( see Ephesians 6:16). We also heard the message that Faith without works is dead ( see James 2:17). I think we can all agree that Faith is an action–it is something that we do. The blessing of walking in Faith is that it teaches you how to be robust and enduring. It also allows us to stand in the promise.
Standing in the promise is when we can see God’s provisions for us. To me, the most excellent example of Faith is that of Abraham. Not only was Abraham willing to sacrifice his son, but he was also willing to sacrifice the promise that God gave him. As we know, his son Isaac was the promise.
Many times I ask the question, “why would God tell Abraham to sacrifice his promise? Did God forget about the promise he made to Abraham?” As I write this message this morning, I have come to realize that (1) God didn’t forget about the promise and (2) God wasn’t looking for Abraham to sacrifice his son but to see Abrahams’s level of obedience. We have to understand that Issac wasn’t just a son to Abraham; he would be the seed that grew Abrahams’s decedents. The promise was greater than what the natural eyes could see.
We often pray and seek after God for things, but we fail to realize that the promise isn’t a promise without the Promiser; This is something that God has shown me as I have been praying for God to send me a husband. The best way to explain it is that the man God is sending me has to be God’s child first. I can not expect the fullness of the promise without recognizing the Promiser in the midst of it all. There are things that only God can do, and my Faith has to be as firm and yielding as Abraham, knowing that God will provide all that I need when I let go and let God have His way.
God’s provisions can be that of a ram, which He sent Abraham as the placement of his son (see Genesis 22:13). God makes way for us to walk in the promise with the full intent that it does what it was created to do.
Your ram could be God opening the door for you to walk through or changing a person’s heart, or getting you through the storm. Whatever the ram is supposed to represent in your life, know that there is a level of obedience that comes first. Whatever it is that you have gone to God for, rest, and lay that need at the feet of Jesus. Keep your eyes on God and not the thing that you desire after.
There is a time for everything, and God is never late or early; He is always on time. All that we can do is have trust in God, believing that He knows what is best for us. As the Word of God says, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31 KJV).
Digging deeper discussion questions
- What is God asking you to give over to Him
- Are you struggling with trust or Faith? Read the full chapter of Genesis 22. Journal your thoughts.
One reply on “Faith: Don’t Miss the Ram in the Bush”
A great word today!