Hang Here With The Donkey...We’ll Be Back

"Stay here with the donkey, and I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you."
Genesis 22:5

In Genesis 22 Abraham is tested by God in the way of sacrificing his one & only son Isaac. It was through Isaac that God promised Abraham that his "DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED." (Hebrews 11:18) Through Isaac God would actually provide The way of salvation for the world. Did Abraham at this point know ever single detail about when, where & how God would do what He had promised? No, but Abraham still trusted God.
When Abraham was told by God to sacrifice Isaac, he didn't understand why, but he knew that God had promised to do these things through Isaac so he trusted that even if God were to let him put his one & only son to death, then he also knew that God would raise him again. We see this in Genesis 22:5 when Abraham tells his servants that he & Isaac are going up the mountain to worship, then he said, "and we will worship and return to you." Abraham knew God would follow through with His promise, no matter how odd or how tough the circumstances were.

Have you ever thought of, how little Abraham knew of God, compared to what we know today. Abraham didn't have God's Holy Word written down that he could carry around with him & read on a daily bases. He didn't have the book of Revelations to see God's plan was fulfilled or Matthew, Mark, Luke & John's gospels to show him how God, gave His Way of salvation for the sins of the world.. He couldn't see all of the actions of a loving, just God, laid gaping throughout history & His word …but we can & have.

Do we trust God like Abraham? Abraham's knowledge of God compared to ours is really very little, but throughout Hebrews he is spoken of as a man of great faith. How is your faith? Do you trust God at His Word? Will you follow Him wherever He leads? Are you willing to do what He says? Has God asked you to do something in obedience to Him, something maybe you don't fully understand, other than it's Biblically from God? If so…"Have faith in God" (Matthew 11:22).

I have come to realize in the past few years that "Have faith in God", is easier to write about or say than it is to live out & display, but it is what He will always call us to do. The awesome thing is, that He never asked us to do it alone.

In a book by Max Lucado, "Come Thirsty" he wrote this, "Doubters became prophets. Peter preached, & people came, & God opened the floodgates on the greatest movement in history. It began because the followers were willing to do one thing: wait in the right place for power... Biblical writers spoke often of this place. Early Christians were urged to: 'Pray without ceasing' (1Thess. 5:17), 'always be prayerful' (Rom. 12:12), 'pray at all times & on every occasion.' (Eph. 6:18)". Sound to hard? He goes on, "Do this. Change your definition of prayer. Think of prayer less as an activity for God & more as an awareness of God. Seek to live in uninterrupted awareness. Acknowledge His presence everywhere you go." Waiting on God & allowing him to work, is very hard for someone like me who need control. But I do believe He is teaching me to let go & watch Him work. Its been said that waiting on God is much like waiting on the bus...when you wait on the bus, you are not just sitting idly by doing nothing, but you are waiting and watching for the bus. You are waiting and watching for God to show up.

Vern