Just testing!
Reading: Genesis 22:1-19
Read through this passage a couple of times, seeing it first of all from Abraham’s point of view and then from God’s angle. In what ways was Abraham’s faith strengthened through this testing?
Abraham knew that the Lord God was a loving, caring God that was going to keep His commitments. Originally, I think that Abraham would have been petrified. He wouldn’t have understood why the Lord would have asked Him to sacrifice the only son that He has given to Abraham. When Abraham was about to slay his own son, the Lord interjected and provided for Abraham based on his faith.
Can you think of times when your own faith or that of your church or even the wider Christian fellowship has been tested, yet through it all blessing has resulted?
My faith is tested as I question my own faith. I don’t have anything that proves that I am saved. It is faith that tells me I am saved. I can see by the fruit but there is no proof. I live my life daily knowing that I am saved by faith. However, there are times — especially those times when I am sinning the most and away from the Lord — that I really question myself. Luckily, the Word has made it pretty clear how to be saved. It isn’t by works but by the grace of the Lord. Praise God!
Make a list of all the things and people which are precious to you. Is God more important to you than each of them?
- My wife, Larissa
- My oldest daugther, Elisabeth
- My middle child, Sarah
- My youngest daughter, Rebekah
- My mother, Stephanie
- My in-laws, Barb and Nick
- My Church
- My friends
- My house
- My job
All of these things are very important to me. However, none of them are as important as the Lord. Unfortunately, it is easy for me to say that but I don’t always act like it. If He was truly the most important thing in my life, I would spend more time with Him than I do. I should spend more time focusing on His plan and not my own plans.