Genesis 22:1-2 (ESV) After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." He said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."
"I don’t understand." "It’s not at all logical." "This doesn’t fit into my paradigm." "Human sacrifice is a pagan ritual." "It’s just plain wrong!" "Why must I do this terrible thing?"
I cannot even begin to imagine the kind of trial that Abraham went through when God tested him. It would be beyond description to even think about sacrificing one’s own son. The Bible does not tell us what went through Abraham’s mind after this short conversation with God. Did he spend the night in prayer and fasting? Did he question, even a little bit, the task God gave to him? I tend to think he may have but we don’t know. What we do know is this: God called him and he said "Here am I." God gave him the command and Abraham "...rose early in the morning, ....and went to the place of which God had told him."
Here is Abraham, a man who miraculously had a son when he and his wife were well beyond normal child bearing age. God had told him this promised son would be the father of a great nation that would number as the stars of heaven. He made a covenant with Abraham and his seed who had not yet been born. Abraham had doubts at times about this promised son. He struggled with the idea. He even tried to cheat and bring it about in his own power. This sounds a lot like me and I dare say a lot like many of us. We read God’s promises and for the most part believe them. Yet so often we try to go it our own way. We try to accomplish God’s will for our lives in our own wisdom and strength. God then must test us, try us and prove us to show us where our faith is lacking. Abraham had been tested many times before and had passed them all. He had been proven his faith time and time again. He had his share of problems and failures but he was without a doubt a man of great faith.
Yet in God’s all-knowing wisdom, something in his character still needed to be proven. God devised what seemed like the ultimate test of obedience and devotion. God told him to step outside of everything he thought he knew to be right. He gave Abraham a command that defied all he thought he knew about God. He was told to take his only son, the son of promise, the father of a great nation, and sacrifice him on the altar. We don’t know exactly what Abraham believed would happen but we know He had faith in God. He told his servants "We will go yonder and worship and come again to you..." He told Isaac "God will provide a lamb for the burnt offering..." In Hebrews 11:19 we read "He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead..."
God tested Abraham. And Abraham passed the test. He indeed sacrificed his son. He didn’t have to slay him but there was sacrifice in his obedience. In verse 12 it says "...now I know that you fear God..." Why did God test Abraham? I think God already knew the answer. He wanted Abraham to grow in his faith and he surely did. When we are tested we may not know why. We may not understand the things God puts us through. We may not be able to wrap our feeble mind around God’s will for the trial. But this one thing we can always be assured of... God wants us to fear Him. He wants us to draw close to Him. He wants us to walk with Him by faith and not by sight. We can always rest assured that "God will provide..." Your test may not be as demanding and grueling as Abraham’s but it is God’s test for you. Believe God, like Abraham believed God, and it will be counted to you as righteousness. God bless you!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
The Cry of Affliction
Jonah 2:1-2 (ESV) Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying, "I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, and he answered me; out of the belly of hell I cried, and you heard my voice."
Jonah’s affliction, his hell, was brought on by his refusal to obey God’s call for his life. His cry of affliction, however, is the same cry made by men, women and children all over the world throughout the history of the world. It is the cry of a person at the end of his rope with no where left to go. It is the cry of a person at the end of himself. It is the desperate cry of a person with no where left to turn but to his Maker, the Lord God Almighty. It is the cry of humble submission that says, “God help me! I can’t do this anymore.“ or “God! I don’t know what to do. Please show me the way!“ This is the cry of affliction made by Jonah from the belly of the whale.
This place of humble submission is exactly where God wants His children to be. He wants us fully dependent on Him. He will do what is necessary to get us to that point. Sometimes the trials of life are God’s plan to get us at the point of total submission and dependence. Sometimes the trials come about as a result of our sin or stupidity, like Jonah. Sometimes it just rains and we get wet. From the standpoint of “Why is this happening to me?“, it really doesn’t matter what caused the trial. We ask questions like “Did my sin cause this trial?“ or “Did God bring this upon me?“ or “Did God allow this bad thing to happen to me?“. The answer to these questions as it relates to the trials of life is irrelevant. The purpose of the trial, regardless of the cause, is always to brings us to the point of total submission and dependence on our Heavenly Father.
This cry of affliction we make in our trials will sound different for each of us in each situation. The cry may sound different but the heart of the cry varies little. When we come to the end of ourselves and cry out to God we should do so in confession, submission, humility and praise. The trial may not end or go away but it matters less to us now because there is less of us trying to control our circumstances or figure a way out of the trial. We have placed ourselves in His hands and are trusting in His goodness. And that is a very good and safe place to be!
The cry of affliction that Jonah made is the cry all of us need to make. And when we do, God is pleased. Therefore, being brought to our knees through trial and tribulation should be considered a good thing. It may not feel good in the middle of trial but the result is glorious. The result is a closer and deeper relationship with God. Paul told us in Philippians that to know Him is to know the fellowship of His sufferings.
So going through trials and tribulations empties us of self and draws us closer to God which please and glorifies Him. This sounds like a “win, win” situation. Cry out to God from your trial and win! Amen!
Jonah’s affliction, his hell, was brought on by his refusal to obey God’s call for his life. His cry of affliction, however, is the same cry made by men, women and children all over the world throughout the history of the world. It is the cry of a person at the end of his rope with no where left to go. It is the cry of a person at the end of himself. It is the desperate cry of a person with no where left to turn but to his Maker, the Lord God Almighty. It is the cry of humble submission that says, “God help me! I can’t do this anymore.“ or “God! I don’t know what to do. Please show me the way!“ This is the cry of affliction made by Jonah from the belly of the whale.
This place of humble submission is exactly where God wants His children to be. He wants us fully dependent on Him. He will do what is necessary to get us to that point. Sometimes the trials of life are God’s plan to get us at the point of total submission and dependence. Sometimes the trials come about as a result of our sin or stupidity, like Jonah. Sometimes it just rains and we get wet. From the standpoint of “Why is this happening to me?“, it really doesn’t matter what caused the trial. We ask questions like “Did my sin cause this trial?“ or “Did God bring this upon me?“ or “Did God allow this bad thing to happen to me?“. The answer to these questions as it relates to the trials of life is irrelevant. The purpose of the trial, regardless of the cause, is always to brings us to the point of total submission and dependence on our Heavenly Father.
This cry of affliction we make in our trials will sound different for each of us in each situation. The cry may sound different but the heart of the cry varies little. When we come to the end of ourselves and cry out to God we should do so in confession, submission, humility and praise. The trial may not end or go away but it matters less to us now because there is less of us trying to control our circumstances or figure a way out of the trial. We have placed ourselves in His hands and are trusting in His goodness. And that is a very good and safe place to be!
The cry of affliction that Jonah made is the cry all of us need to make. And when we do, God is pleased. Therefore, being brought to our knees through trial and tribulation should be considered a good thing. It may not feel good in the middle of trial but the result is glorious. The result is a closer and deeper relationship with God. Paul told us in Philippians that to know Him is to know the fellowship of His sufferings.
So going through trials and tribulations empties us of self and draws us closer to God which please and glorifies Him. This sounds like a “win, win” situation. Cry out to God from your trial and win! Amen!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
The Fire of Purification
1 Peter 4:12-13 (ESV) "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed."
On January 24, 1848, James Wilson Marshall discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California, and the California Gold Rush began. Within a short period of time, some 300,000 men, women and children flocked to the California to seek their fortune. The California Gold Rush may be the biggest and most famous of gold rushes in our nation’s history but was by no means the only one. There were gold mines throughout the mountains of Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. People worked hard to find the gold and get it to the market. They panned for it. They dug for it. Some stole to get it. A few made fortunes. Some made a living and many other lost their lives in the pursuit of gold.
Before gold could be considered “useful” as a precious metal and made into jewelry or currency, it had to go through a complicated process of refinement. It was separated from the minerals surrounding it and then refined by great heat to further remove impurities. As more junk was removed from the gold it became more pure and valuable.
In the Bible there are many references to this refining process in relation to the Christian life. It is a very appropriate analogy. Peter uses the analogy here in I Peter 4:12-13. He calls it a fiery trial. He tells us not to be concerned that this fiery trial is a foreign or strange thing. The obvious implication is that it is a normal part of the Christian life. We come to Christ as gold in the rough. We are valuable to God. He gave His only Son to redeem us. But we come to Him like gold ore in a mixture of other minerals and junk. There is much of the world and the flesh that taints the purity of the gold. Through fiery trials He begins to separate the gold from the junk. Over and over again, he stokes the fire until some impurity rises to the top to be skimmed off. He will continue the refining process until we are conformed to the image of Christ. This is the ultimate goal of the refining process in the Christian life. Paul tells us in Romans 8:29 that we are “predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…”
As more and more of the impurities are removed, Peter tells us that His glory is revealed. We become more like Him. Certainly it is not an easy process but the end is glorious! I like the way the KJV translates the verse. It says “…that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” This literally means we should “jump for joy” at the thought of His glory being revealed in us!!
Be encouraged. He is always at work in your life. The trial you are going through now, or soon will be going through, is for a purpose. He is working to remove the junk from the ore of your life so more of His glory will shine through. Don’t fight it. Though the pain and heartache may seem to be unbearable, hold on to the truth of I Peter 4:12-13. As you share in Christ’s sufferings He will reveal His glory. Amen!
On January 24, 1848, James Wilson Marshall discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California, and the California Gold Rush began. Within a short period of time, some 300,000 men, women and children flocked to the California to seek their fortune. The California Gold Rush may be the biggest and most famous of gold rushes in our nation’s history but was by no means the only one. There were gold mines throughout the mountains of Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. People worked hard to find the gold and get it to the market. They panned for it. They dug for it. Some stole to get it. A few made fortunes. Some made a living and many other lost their lives in the pursuit of gold.
Before gold could be considered “useful” as a precious metal and made into jewelry or currency, it had to go through a complicated process of refinement. It was separated from the minerals surrounding it and then refined by great heat to further remove impurities. As more junk was removed from the gold it became more pure and valuable.
In the Bible there are many references to this refining process in relation to the Christian life. It is a very appropriate analogy. Peter uses the analogy here in I Peter 4:12-13. He calls it a fiery trial. He tells us not to be concerned that this fiery trial is a foreign or strange thing. The obvious implication is that it is a normal part of the Christian life. We come to Christ as gold in the rough. We are valuable to God. He gave His only Son to redeem us. But we come to Him like gold ore in a mixture of other minerals and junk. There is much of the world and the flesh that taints the purity of the gold. Through fiery trials He begins to separate the gold from the junk. Over and over again, he stokes the fire until some impurity rises to the top to be skimmed off. He will continue the refining process until we are conformed to the image of Christ. This is the ultimate goal of the refining process in the Christian life. Paul tells us in Romans 8:29 that we are “predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…”
As more and more of the impurities are removed, Peter tells us that His glory is revealed. We become more like Him. Certainly it is not an easy process but the end is glorious! I like the way the KJV translates the verse. It says “…that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” This literally means we should “jump for joy” at the thought of His glory being revealed in us!!
Be encouraged. He is always at work in your life. The trial you are going through now, or soon will be going through, is for a purpose. He is working to remove the junk from the ore of your life so more of His glory will shine through. Don’t fight it. Though the pain and heartache may seem to be unbearable, hold on to the truth of I Peter 4:12-13. As you share in Christ’s sufferings He will reveal His glory. Amen!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)