In Genesis 22, God asks Abraham to sacrifice "his only son, Isaac, whom he loves." The story goes straight from God's request of Abraham (v. 2) to "Early the next morning Abraham got up" and started the three-day journey to make a burnt offering before God.
We don't see any negotiating with God. There's no second-guessing God's wisdom. There is only faith and obedience.
Abraham tells the servants, "We will worship and then WE will come back to you." (v. 5b, emphasis mine). Faith.
When Isaac asks about the lamb for the burnt offering, Abraham answers that God himself will provide it. Faith.
But look at verses 9 and 10 to see when God provides. Abraham had already bound his son and laid him on the altar. Abraham had already taken the knife to slay his son when an angel of the Lord called out to him.
Yes, God provided a ram for the burnt offering. Yes, God spared Isaac, but Abraham had already demonstrated a spirit of sacrifice before God provided. Sacrifice before provision. Faith.
I have been convicted by this story. It has forced me to ask myself if I am asking for God's provision without demonstrating a spirit of sacrifice. What am I holding on to?
Am I putting my faith in my own ability or my own provision instead of in God?
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Sacrifice before provision
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