Read Genesis 22:1–19
‘The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore.”’ (vv15–17)
The sacrifice that each of us might be asked to give in our service for God will be different, it will be personal. Cost and sacrifice are something we feel.
The important thing is that we need to have a sacrificial heart that is willing to give up everything precious to us
For Abraham, the most precious thing to him was his son, a child he had waited years for, long promised by the Lord Himself (Genesis 15:4).
So, as his promised heir, it would have seemed baffling to Abraham that the Lord would ask him to give up Isaac by way of sacrifice.
Yet in a bizarre twist of events in Genesis 22, as Abraham prepares to obediently carry out the Lord’s instructions, the Lord Himself, seeing Abraham’s willingness, provides a substitute in the form of a ram (v13).
Abraham’s willingness to entrust even the most precious thing to the Lord, revealed his sacrificial heart of service.
We can often cling onto things that are precious to us, unwilling to allow God to have complete lordship over our lives. Perhaps our finances, relationships or career plans.
The sacrifice that each of us might be asked to give in our service for God will be personal.
The important thing for all of us is not that we necessarily have to give up everything that is precious to us, but that we have a sacrificial heart that is willing to do so.
Whatever sacrifice we may or may not be asked to give, it can never compare to the ultimate sacrifice God Himself has made, in giving us His precious Son Jesus.
A PRAYER TO MAKE:
‘Lord Jesus, help me to be willing to give every area of my life over to You. Amen.’
AN ACTION TO TAKE:
What areas of our lives might we be clinging onto, refusing to allow Christ’s lordship?
SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER:
Gen. 15:1–21; 1 Sam. 15:1–35; Heb. 11:17–19; 1 John 4:7–21
