Origins: The Promise (Genesis 12–25)Sample

By Danny Saavedra

“Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, ‘Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.’” Genesis 22:3–5 (NIV)

Faith does not demand explanations; faith rests on promises. I want you to really meditate on that for a second as you consider what your walk with the Lord looks like. 

All of us who are believers have repented of our sins and put our faith in Jesus for salvation. We believe in faith that He, the Son of God, died for our sins and was resurrected, and thus we have been given eternal life in Him. But what does our day-to-day faith in the Lord in the big and small things look like? In the crushing and pressing, in the moments where we wait for answers, for Him to work and move and do and change and heal and bless? What does our faith look like when we don’t have answers or can’t understand what He’s doing when we’re called to do something that seems crazy or scary? Are we resting on His promises and His Word in those moments or demanding explanations and seeking self-gain?

In today’s passage, we see one of the most profound examples of true faith you’ll ever see or read about on display. After receiving the command to sacrifice his son Isaac, the next morning Abraham obeyed and began making preparations. Then he set out with Isaac and some of his servants. On the third day—let that sink in—he saw the place he would go with Isaac and they went up on their own. Then look at what he said to the servants, “We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

This is easily one of the most moving and powerful verses in the entire Bible to me. "We will worship and we will return to you." This is faith at its finest. It is in this statement that you and I can find our greatest source of boldness, strength, and faith. Even in the midst of trials, even when all seems lost, even when we don’t have answers or understanding, even when we’re surrounded on all sides: Abraham knew God’s character, he knew God’s plan, and he knew God’s history of faithfulness. Just like Abraham, we can have faith in the midst of great difficulty because we know the character of God; we know we have victory in Christ, and we have seen, heard, and experienced countless examples of God’s faithfulness. 

DIG: Why did Abraham tell the servants that both he and Isaac would return to them despite knowing what the Lord had instructed him to do?

DISCOVER: What does this part of the story teach us about faith? How can we apply this to our own lives? 

DO: Write down all the ways you have seen the Lord’s faithfulness on display throughout your life as a believer. Reflect on your journey and what the Lord showed you about faith and about His character through those experiences.