Genesis 21:1-22:19
When I think of this question, I am always brought back to that image of you falling back and hoping that one of your friends will be there to catch you. With God, it is the same I think. Trusting God requires a lot of faith.
In this latest episode in Genesis, God asks Abraham to do the un-thinkable, to sacrifice his own son for God, could we do that if we were in Abraham’s situation?
Abraham had proven he was willing to sacrifice everything–even his son of promise. He shows us that his greatest need was to know God. Isaac had a submissive faith–willing to be what God wanted him to be. Even when he was offered as a sacrifice, Isaac submitted himself to his father because God had so willed it. Faith was now a proven fact. God said, “Now I know that you fear God” (Gen. 22:12)
It is common to hear people say, “You must have faith.” But faith itself is as rare as a true gem.
Where is our faith today? What is faith? When taken in its most basic meaning, faith is believing what God says and then acting upon it. If we do not act upon what God says, this is evidence that we really do not believe.
I suppose what I want you to take away with you today is these few points — Faith is tested so it might be proven to be genuine. A faith that cannot endure trial is really no faith at all. Can we trust God when we are totally unable to see how He is going to work out His will? Abraham demonstrated that he could.
Brian
One Response to “Day 8 – Can we Trust God?”
Adam
“A faith that cannot endure trial is really no faith at all.”
This reminds me of a scene from the blockbuster TV series LOST! 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo7yIEAh65M
John Locke shows Charlie (suffering with drug addiction) a cocoon which has a moth inside. The moth is struggling to make its way out of the cocoon. John suggests that he could simply use his knife and set the Moth free…but…the Moth would be too weak to survive. The moth needs that struggle to gain the strength needed to survive in the outside world.
“Struggle is natures way of strengthening it” he says.
In the same way, God uses our struggles to strengthen our faith in him. We are always going to come across tough times, challenges and temptations, and God uses our times of struggle and hardship in order to make us stronger in our faith to face what comes to us (If we ask him to).
Just thought I’d share that 😀