Bible in a Year, Day 16: When God Asks You for Everything

Today's reading

Today's reading is Genesis 22, where God tests Abraham on the way to Mount Moriah.

After these things, God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” He said, “Here I am.” He said, “Now take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of Moriah. Offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will tell you of.”

(Genesis 22:1-2, WEB)

Reflection

Isaac was the son Abraham waited a lifetime for. Pastor Jack Graham calls him the miracle child, the fulfillment of everything God had said. Then God asked for him back, and the command broke Abraham's heart.

Look at how Abraham responds. Graham points out that he doesn't argue and doesn't try to negotiate. He gets up early the next morning and goes. The travel took three days, and Graham invites us to imagine those long nights. As he describes the climb up the mountain, the question echoing through every step is "will you trust me even here?"

When Isaac asked where the lamb was, Abraham answered, God will provide. Abraham built the altar, laid down the wood and bound his son, and Isaac willingly surrendered. At the moment Abraham raised the knife, heaven stopped him. As Graham put it, God never wanted Isaac's life. "What he wanted was Abraham's heart fully." In that moment, Graham says, "He loved the giver of the gift."

A ram was caught in the thicket and became the substitute, and Isaac lived. Abraham named the mountain, the Lord will provide. Graham then looks centuries ahead to the same mountain, where another father would bring his only son. This time there would be no substitute, because Jesus, the Lamb of God, took our place on the cross.

That changes how we read our own tests. Graham says God tests us "not to tear us down, but to make us stronger in him." When God asks for something we may love more than him, he is inviting us to find that "God is enough for every need in our life."

Take it with you

• What gift in your life are you holding most tightly, and can you trust the Giver with it?
• Abraham got up early and went. Is there a step of obedience you have been delaying?
• Where do you need to remember that God has already provided for you in Jesus?

Prayer

Father, you are the giver of every good gift, and I confess how tightly I hold what you have given me. Give me a heart like Abraham's, one that trusts you even when I cannot see the way. Thank you for providing the Lamb in my place. Show me that you are enough for every need in my life, and help me to follow you with open hands. Amen.