Imagine being so good at something that people remember you for it even thousands of years after you pass away. Not many people have reached such an achievement. One man who did was a man by the name of Abraham. Hebrews 11:17 says, "By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son."
Imagine one day God gives you something that you have been waiting for for a very long time only to have Him challenge that promise with a test. That's what happened to Abraham. God basically gave Abraham the promise that he would become the father of a nation, and we now know that that's exactly what happened.
Abraham wasn't perfect and he made a lot of mistakes, but this one instance He stood his ground and set the example for all of us to follow today. Here are three things we can learn from Abraham to pass the test of faith.
Know God's promise
What was God's promise to Abraham? Was it about just having a son in Isaac? No, it wasn't. It was about being a father of many nations. That made Abraham realise that even if he did sacrifice Isaac, God wasn't done yet. He could raise Isaac from the dead or even stop the execution. God's intention was not for the human sacrifice to have ever happened but to teach and test if Abraham kept his eyes on the prize.
What is God's promise for you today? So many times when tests and trials come, we easily forget the promises of God. Hebrews 10:23 says, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful."
Know God's power
Abraham knew the power of God. He had seen it happen. God had given him a son in his old age. And he knew that God's power was not going to end with a dead boy on an altar. Some Bible scholars would go as far as to say that God never intended to see Isaac die on that mountain, but knew that Abraham would trust in the power and ability of God to come through in the end.
Whatever storm you face today, God is bigger than that storm and can even rebuke it. But He allows that storm to brew around you because He wants you to learn how to focus on His power, not the power of the storm.
Know God's heart
Skeptics would say that God is blood-thirsty because He wanted to see a young boy die on an altar. But did He really? When my daughter Alexa gets disobedient, she knows what's coming - discipline. But I make it clear to her and it's clear to me that punishment is not what I desire, but it's what must happen.
Hosea 6:6 says it best: "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings." Do you know God's heart? Do you think He desires mercy or sacrifice?
