Following the Trail of God's Promises: The 40-Day ChallengeSample

15. The Great Test

When encountering this dramatic episode in the lives of Abraham and Isaac, we are easily shocked and horrified by God’s request of Abraham that he sacrifice his long-desired and unexpectedly and miraculously received son, Isaac. How could He ask for such a sacrifice? And then we - who today try in all possible "creative" ways to avoid any trials by any sort of renunciation or sacrifice of our own way of life, decision-making, direction of our life's path or that of our children and loved ones - are even more shocked by Abraham's biblical, unconditional willingness to do what God expects from him.

At the same time, we don’t seem to notice how we gradually, imperceptibly sacrifice our lives and the lives of our families and loved ones to the various modern gods of career, success, acceptance, money, self-realization, untouchability, fashionable values and arrogance. We delude ourselves, thinking that we can be sovereign planners of our own destinies, as well as those of others. God seems good to us as long as He helps us, fulfills our wishes and dreams, and surprises us with the occasional miracle along the trail of our plans and longings. But when He confronts us with some important question, challenge, demand, test...? When He puts a big question mark on our way of life? Or an exclamation point? Or does it seem that the endpoint of some life story dear to us is in sight?

A trial/test is a new, challenging ingredient that God puts into our beaker in the laboratory of life. And He asks for a decision. He puts before us a choice: believe Him or go solo? Abraham emerged from his trial as the Father of Faith. How will we emerge from ours?