Devotions Inspired by the Fresh Start Bibleنموونە

You Want Me to Do What?

By Todd Lane 

As a husband and a father, I can imagine several obstacles for me if I were Abraham taking Isaac up on the mountain to sacrifice him. Among those would be having to tell my wife what God told me to do! I can imagine why verse 3 says, “The next morning Abraham got up early.” I think he was trying to sneak out without telling Sarah! 

I wonder if between verses 2 and 3, Abraham thought, You want me to do what? I mean, who wouldn’t have that thought? Isaac was the answer to their prayers. And Isaac was the promise from God for their legacy. In the previous chapter (Genesis 21:12), Abraham had sent away Hagar and Ishmael because God said “... for Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” Abraham had gone all in. There were no other options that he could see for the fulfillment of God’s promise. He must have been so confused. And there he found himself facing the ultimate test: to simply trust God. 

Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.” Every disciple who is developing an intimate relationship with God will have opportunities to obey God in ways that will require us to abandon our own understanding and trust Him at a whole new level. But it’s almost like God gets great joy in showing His supernatural provision when we sacrificially trust and obey. 

When God provided a ram to sacrifice instead of Isaac, that was when God revealed Himself as Jehovah Jireh, meaning the Lord will provide. But that provision only arrived once Abraham proceeded with sacrificial obedience. It’s as if God reveals this aspect of Himself in the most critical moment when we find ourselves clinging to His word alone. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, the Lord provides in a way we couldn’t have imagined. 

When we find ourselves asking God, “You want me to do what?” perhaps He is saying back to us, “Watch how I will provide.” 

Prayer

God, I will trust You with your calling and assignment for me. I believe in Your provision in my life, and I will choose to cling to Your word even when things look impossible. In Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Memory Verse

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:7–8