Blessed Are the Messy

day twenty-five

Isaac turned to Abraham and said, "Father?"
"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.
"We have the fire and the wood," the boy said, "but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?"
(8) "God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son," Abraham answered. And they both walked on together.

Genesis 22:7-8

The story of Abraham and Isaac never fails to amaze me. Can you imagine how you would feel if someone asked you to take your only child and sacrifice him or her? Or if you don't have children, your dog, your cat, another family member, or anyone who is precious to you? To me, it sounds absolutely unthinkable. But Abraham just gets up, saddles up his donkey, and chops up the wood like nothing is out of the ordinary. When they get to the spot, he just goes right up there and even says, "We'll be right back!"

I think at this point, Isaac is starting to get nervous because he doesn't see any sheep to be sacrificed, but Abraham simply says, "God will provide." That's it. He doesn't appear to be worried at all. He has so much faith that God will provide for him that he knows he doesn't have to be worried. And just as he believed, God provided.

Nothing at all has changed about God since this happened. He is still just as faithful to provide for us today as he was for Abraham and Isaac so many thousands of years ago. We can learn a lot from Abraham's faith in God, too. So much of our time is spent worrying about things that God already has under control. What if we spent that time trusting Him instead? He has GUARANTEED that He will provide for us! When you start to worry about something, no matter what it is, remember that God will provide for you in His time. Remember Abraham's faith and just how powerful trusting in God can be!