Abraham 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 22:5)
If you are familiar with the story of Abraham and Isaac, you will remember that God called Abraham to do the unimaginable . . . the unthinkable: to sacrifice his son. Did Abraham simply head out and blindly do what God commanded? Not at all! Abraham knew God, both His promise and His character, and he trusted that God would do what was right and true, even in issuing this heart-wrenching, inexplicable command.
God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation and that his wife Sarah would bear him a son. Both Abraham and Sarah were childless at the time and Sarah was well beyond child-bearing age, but Genesis 15:6 tells us that Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. And when Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90, Sarah gave birth to the child of the promise: Isaac.
So what might seem at first glance like blind faith in following the command of God wasn’t blind faith at all, and Abraham’s assertion in in today’s verse makes that clear. He told his servants that “We [that is, “Abraham and Isaac] will come back to you.” The testimony given in the “Hall of Faith” chapter in the New Testament explains Abraham’s confidence:
By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. (Hebrews 11:17-19)
Abraham acted out of reason, not a blind faith. He remembered God’s promise regarding his son Isaac, and because he knew that God could be taken at His Word, Abraham acted accordingly. All throughout the Scriptures, we are instructed to operate by faith, and that faith is often rooted in wisdom, reason, and logic. God gave us the ability to think and reason, which means our faith is not blind, but a firm reliance on the One who can be trusted no matter what, even when we do not fully understand God’s plan. As Hebrews 11:1 tells us, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”
Where does this message find you today? Whether the sun is brightly shining or the storm winds are blowing, remember to act in faith on all of the promises of God. Abraham followed God faithfully, holding fast to God’s gracious promise, and we are to do the same. We don’t need to know the future. We just need to know the One who holds it all in His nail-scarred hands. Let that truth set you free today.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 