In my Bible study this morning my scripture was from Genesis where Abraham was called to give up his only son. Below is what I took away from the scripture where God calls us to do something, we don’t think we can do under our own power, but with Him we can do all things:

          Genesis 22:2-3

1.   “Take your son, your only son, whom you love.”  Now let’s fill in the blank on what that means the most to us. TAKE YOUR _____ . What you love.

2.   “And go to the land of Moriah.”  Again, let’s fill in the blank. GOD IS TELLING YOU TO DO WHAT ___________.

3.   “And offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Fill in the blank. WHERE IS GOD TELLING YOU TO GO WHILE PLACING YOUR TRUST WITH FOLLOWING HIM? ___________. Fill in your blank.

Abraham somehow followed God’s instructions and please don’t think for a moment this was even remotely easy for him to first accept that God was calling him to do something that made no sense or at least, how could it. And, why would God ask him to do something that would be so hard to do? Or wait, a human sacrifice? How unheard of but not really. Back in Abraham’s day, it was not uncommon for the people to offer burnt sacrifices (children) to their gods for the needs of the community, and before you go thinking how could someone do such a thing just because everyone else goes along with it, then ask yourself, “What am I going along with just because it is the thing to do to be accepted.”

If you keep reading Genesis, you’ll see where God shows us that human sacrifices are not what He wants from us, but for us to make a life-changing sacrifice and to follow Him where He is calling us to go. It’s when we tell ourselves that we can’t step out on faith and follow Him because again, ______  (you fill it in) and there you’ll be stuck right there not growing spiritually and not fully trusting God to meet your needs.

And let me be clear. When following God to your mountain, you won’t always see the mountain that God is directing you to along the journey because His call is a daily one of trust following Him with baby steps. And, while moving forward toward the mountain in the far away distance, it’s seen only in the skyline, but as you get closer and closer then finally arriving, the mountain area becomes common ground and you no longer see it as a mountain, but as a way of life leaving behind whatever ______ (fill in) that didn’t make the trip.

A life-changing journey is what God is calling us for. To trust Him and to allow Him to show us beyond the highest mountains all that He has spiritually in store for us, but first, the journey starts with us accepting God’s call like Abraham then packing up our donkey and following Him to an unfamiliar place. Will you trust God to lead you in this day to your far away mountain? Will you leave behind what should not make the trip? Will you take the steps necessary that will add up to the victory?

Here are some scriptures to help muster up the strength to saddle your donkey and begin your life sacrifice journey:

1.   Prov:20-4 God will direct your steps.

2.   1 Cor: 1:30 God will give you wisdom.

3.   Heb 13:11 God promises to never leave you or forsake you.

In Jesus’ Name I pray for you,

Debra Ward