Legacy of LeadersНамуна

Abraham | Faith

Read: Genesis 15, 22

Throughout history, Abraham’s name has always been first in this legendary list: “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” His name is included for just one reason: his faith in “the God.” Today, we’ll look at two integral passages regarding Abram-turned-Abraham.

Some time later, the Lord spoke to Abram in a vision and said to him, “Do not be afraid, Abram, for I will protect you, and your reward will be great.” But Abram replied, “O Sovereign Lord, what good are all your blessings when I don’t even have a son?” … Then the Lord said to him, “… for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.” Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith. (Genesis 15:1–2, 4–6)

This passage, known as “God’s Covenant with Abraham,” is not someone’s fictional conjecture or a romantic tale of fantasy, but an actual conversation placed on record between Maker and man. Picture this scene: God tells a man to look up into the clear night sky and that from him will come more children throughout the generations than the number of stars he can see. Sound crazy? So how did Abraham respond to such a statement? He simply believed in his heart that God’s promise was true and that it would be true. Because, of course, he would not live to see the complete outcome.

But there is another event in Scripture that overshadows God’s presentation of the promise—the test in Genesis 22. God is true to His word and Abraham had a son, Isaac. No matter how many times you have read or heard the story, this time try to put yourself in Abraham’s place.

God told him to take his son up to the mountain and offer him as a sacrifice. Amazingly, Abraham appeared to offer no questioning, no pushback, and no debate. Only obedience. He made the climb, built the altar, tied up his son, and raised the knife. Imagine the horror for both father and son as the question of “Why?” raced through both their minds. But …

At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. (Genesis 22:11–13)

As we read Scripture, we must always keep in mind that these people were normal humans, not superheroes or some heavenly breed given a higher level of faith. Never remove the very raw and real human element as you take in God’s Word.

Throughout the many seasons of our lives, God will continually call us to these same two spiritual dynamics, just as He did Abraham:

• Our belief in His calling for our lives

• Our sacrifice to experience His calling in our lives

Deepening our belief in God will always bring the challenge of sacrifice. To comply, we have to set aside our doubts, struggles, biases, and personal agendas to look at where God is pointing us and respond with, “I believe You, Lord.” There are moments when God asks us to “raise the knife” on small, easy, simple things. But there will be those tough times when He calls us to take sacrificial action. We can’t yet see the outcome, don’t understand what He is doing, or can’t envision the reason or purpose for what He is asking. Those are the situations that, just as when God tested Abraham, show us what we truly believe and the true depth of our faith.

God never tests us so He can see what we are made of. He already knows. He tests us so we can see what we are made of.

Meditate and Journal

• The most difficult test I have experienced in my faith journey has been:
• When I chose to sacrifice:
• I saw how God began to work and allow me to:

“Heavenly Father, I know that to You, my calling is no less significant than Abraham’s. You want my faith and obedience through my sacrifices to touch my world in Your name for Your glory. Please strengthen my faith to believe and trust You, even in the toughest tests that come into my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Memory Verse

Write your name in the blank to personalize and memorize this adaptation of today’s verse:

And _______ believed the Lord.

Genesis 15:6, adapted

The larger the vision, the tougher the test, the harder the sacrifice, the greater the reward.

God will never ask you to sacrifice more than He already has.