Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled 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 22:1-5)
Alright, first question: Why in the world would God give Abraham a son at the ripe age of one hundred, only to take that son away from him? For those of you who are familiar with this story in the Bible, we know that Abraham ends up going through with the process of placing Isaac on the altar before God. Seconds before Abraham is ready to sacrifice Isaac, the angel of the Lord calls out to Abraham:
"Abraham! Abraham!" '
"Here I am," he [Abraham] replied.
"Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son" (Genesis 22:11-12).
Laying down what God is asking of us presently, does not necessarily or automatically infer that God will ask us to lay that particular thing down permanently. The present is not always permanent (I hear some of you shouting, "Praise the LORD for that!"). Perhaps you are wanting to be married, so badly wanting to be a wife and a mother, that your heart literally aches at times. Maybe you are waiting on a certain career opportunity to come through so you can begin putting your gifts and talents to work. Perhaps you are desiring that a certain relationship work out for you, or maybe you want to have a baby ...
What is the desire of your heart that God is not presently fulfilling? We know that if we are abiding in Him, truly abiding, that we can trust our desires to be His own. I feel the need to say something this evening - something that I do not believe is solely opinion (as many of the things are on this blog), but rooted in Truth. Do not overlook the fact that God could very well be the One shaping, molding and creating in you those desires, dear sister. God created us in the flesh, enabling us to have both fleshly and spiritual desires. We often take on the heaviness of believing any desire we have that is not as "spiritual" as some, is in vain. Let me just tell you this: The desire to be a wife and a mother - that is spiritual. The desire to live your life, excelling in your God-given gifts, operating in the area of your talent, with purpose - that is spiritual. God created woman, and God created marriage, and God created motherhood. God created your intellect, passions, talents, and gifts - not to be wasted, but to be effectively utilized. So, don't get caught up in that trap. In a way, it's a little over-zealous and pompous of us, when you think about it. I mean, who are we, that we actually think we could even come up with half of our goals and dreams on our own? I am going to suggest that we just allow the Creator, to do the creating. I'm just going to go along for the ride ... Trusting that He knows what He's doing. Just do me a favor and accept what He has put in your heart - Stop questioning and fighting it, for goodness sake.
So, I ask you again: What is the desire of your heart that God is not presently fulfilling? Does your desire fit into one of the categories above, or is it something completely different?
Are you struggling with trusting God with that specific desire because you feel like if you let go of it, that He will take it away, never to give it back? Are you questioning God, asking Him why He would have placed such a desire in your heart, only to not have it fulfilled? OK, listen ... consider this:
Abraham was given a son by the plan and ordination of God Himself. God clearly put that desire in his heart, as it would not have been Abraham's own plan - He would not have conjured this idea up by himself. (You know, the whole 'having a child at 100' thing. Yeah ... weird.) But God still, in order to test Abraham's heart - to see where Abraham's allegiance was - asked Abraham to give that most prized "God-given" possession up. For the Lord - out of obedience.
If Abraham would have run from the Lord, ignored His command, held onto Isaac a little tighter, thus taking things into his own hands - It would have only delayed the process. The process of learning, and submitting to, obedience.
Instead, Abraham submitted, believing all along that God would come through for him - that God would give him back his son. (Notice in Genesis 22:5 Abraham says, "We will worship and then we will come back to you.")
I believe Abraham knew that God was calling him to be willing. In the 3 day span, from when God called Abraham to sacrifice Isaac before Him, and the actual following through of the sacrifice, do you actually believe that Abraham became completely disconnected emotionally with his son, was peacefully at ease with his decision to act in obedience, and free of ALL worry and fear? He was human, remember? But what overrides Abraham's fear, is his undeniable knowing of the character of His God. He believed His God. And because of that - because He knew that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28) - He was WILLING.
Ladies, God wants us to be ... willing. He doesn't want us to be robots - free of want and desire and passion and purpose. He wants women, who are willing. Willing to say: "You know what, God? I don't know why you would have given me this desire, only to have it not presently fulfilled. But based on who I know you to be, through the Power of Your Word and through Your endless and unfailing love for me demonstrated through the death of Your Son on the old rugged cross ... I will believe You. I will lay this down for You, as Abraham laid his son Isaac down on Mt. Moriah ... because, I believe You presently want me to hand over control. My present is not always permanent - What You are asking me to lay down and give You control over today, is for today - I'm going to trust You for tomorrow. And I'm going to trust that the desires of my heart ... are from You, and that they are for You. Yes God, I am willing ... for the sake of obedience."
Sisters, being willing is not easy. It is at times, suffice to say, excruciating. By definition it is of or relating to the will. Our wills are a powerful part of who we are as individuals, which makes it ever so difficult when it comes to letting go. We literally are giving up of ourselves. Accepting someone else's will for our very own lives - It seems foreign, doesn't it?
But just take a look at Abraham. Don't you think he loved his son Isaac more than ever after that? Can't you just see him embracing him, crying and hugging him, appreciating him as never before? And more than that - Don't you think he loved his God more than ever? Because the character of his God was proved true. Abraham knew at that moment, probably more than ever before, that he served a God who knew what He was doing. A God who could be trusted - trusted with the desires of his heart. A God ... who was worth being willing for.
Be willing in the present ... trusting Him for the permanent.
1 comment:
WOW...that is just what I needed. I'm praising the Lord for your gift of writing!
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