City Life Starter

Written by Stefan Johnsson

The Word

After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” ² He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” ³ So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. ⁴ On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. ⁵ Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”

Genesis 22:1-5 (ESV)

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

Hebrews 11:17-19 (ESV)

Reflection

One may wonder what went through the minds of the two young men and Isaac as they left towards the mountain that Abraham was guiding them to. They were gathering wood for a burnt offering but there was no goat, sheep, or heifer that they were bringing with them. Then they left the servants and donkey behind and went up alone. What questions did Isaac ask his father when he was carrying the wood up the mountain? What was that conversation like? Did Abraham tell Isaac that God had asked him to use his son as the burnt offering?

If you read too quickly through these verses, you miss one vital clue on Abraham’s faith in God. Look back at verse five. Abraham told the two young men that he and Isaac were going up to worship and would return. Abraham was confident he would be coming back with his son. He had such faith and confidence in God that there was no question on what would happen. Maybe that’s why Isaac never tried to run away or argue with his dad.

The author of Hebrews, when speaking of faith, mentions the act of Abraham being willing to sacrifice Isaac as the truest form of his belief in God. This is the definition of faithfulness in God. It didn’t come easy as it took Abraham decades to finally get to this point, spending years trying to fulfill the promises of God on his own. Through his failures, Abraham finally reached the point in his faith where he was fully committed, fully bought in, and fully trusting in God.

Application

Where are you in your faith? Have you fully committed your trust in God through all circumstances and situations in your life? On a scale of 1-10, most of us, if we were fully honest with ourselves, sit somewhere between a 3 or 4. We may trust God in the small things, but few of us reach the point of complete trust.

Why do you think that is? My guess is that our society puts our trust more in wealth and prosperity than in God.

What is holding you back from trusting God more?

Prayer

Father in heaven, help me to put my trust in You. I lack in faith and try to accomplish things on my own. Abraham was no different for most of his life, but he finally understood what it means to live by faith. Help me to also do the same. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.