"When they arrived at the place where
God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on
it. Then he tied his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the
wood. And Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice."
-Genesis 22: 9 & 10
I can't imagine how Abraham must have felt after God told him to
sacrifice his son. I mean, what kind of God is this? God’s people
didn’t traditionally offer up their children as sacrifices - the pagan
people did that. Nevertheless, this is what Abraham was instructed to
do, and he heeded the instruction.
We never see Abraham flinch as he is going up the mountain with
Isaac. There is no account of him stopping along the way, crying out to
God, or questioning his faith. There is no record of an emotional
breakdown, a furrowed face; even a tear. But, we do know that Abraham
was counted righteous because of his faith. (Romans 4:3) It only appears
that he had unwavering faith that day, faith that God was good and that
He would indeed provide.
Abraham, in spite of getting to the 11:59th hour, stood firm. The
lamb was not provided at the base of the mountain. Nor was it provided
halfway up the mountain. It was not even provided as Abraham was
building the altar. No, the lamb was provided as Abraham picked up the
knife. This speaks a great deal about TOTAL - not partial or limited -
faith. Abraham didn’t hold anything back.
Then the angel spoke. "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." v.12
What could God do with faith like that? Do you have 100% faith?
"He walked away, about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, 'Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.' Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him." -Luke 22:41-43
Have you ever prayed the prayer above? Have you ever said to God, "Not my will Father, but yours be done"? What an amazing statement by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
It may seem like quite a dangerous statement. Do we really trust God enough to completely give our lives over to Him? Are we really willing to do anything? However, I would argue that it is even more dangerous to get to the end of our lives, stand before God, and fail to hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant..."
When we first accept Jesus as our Savior, we entrust our spiritual well-being and the destination of our soul to Him. Then, we progressively begin to understand what it means to live out the words, "not my will, Father, but yours be done."
Even though Jesus was Lord over the universe, He still deferred His authority to His Father, God - God of all creation. And through Jesus' willingness, God was able to accomplish something miraculous through Him. His death... His resurrection. He completely changed the world.
Have you ever prayed that prayer, "Not my will, but Yours be done?" I wonder how the world could be changed by our willingness to do anything, to be whatever God needed us to be. Will you have the faith and courage to pray it today?
