Learning from Abraham

Abraham was a man of faith. He was an obedient and courageous servant of God who achieved great exploits in his time. The Bible refers to him as a friend of God. 

How is it that Abraham believed in God whom he had never seen? How did he have such great faith to believe that God would offer a sacrifice for him instead of him sacrificing his one and only son Isaac?

The book of Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. How can we get to a point where our faith is unshakable? Well, life always poses to us the choice of believing in God or our knowledge. Abraham chose to trust that God will show up for him when he needed him most. This is a challenge for us today to choose obedience even when the situation dictates otherwise.

Here are some lessons we can learn from the life of Abraham

Obedience is key

When Abraham went to sacrifice his son as recorded in Genesis 22:9-10, he simply trusted that God would provide for him the sacrifice. He could have asked God many questions about how the process will turn out, but he chose to obey. We are encouraged to obey God even when he gives us assignments that we may not know to execute.

God always provides

As humans, we have many needs that need to be attended to. Sometimes we don’t know where and how our help will come from. We see in Abraham’s situation that God is always at work shaping us for His purposes though at times it comes by sacrifice and testing. God provided the sacrifice that Abraham needed just when it was needed. May we be encouraged to know that ultimately God causes everything to work for our good.

Decisions can have a lasting impact on generations

In the story of Abraham, we learn that faith and obedience have a lasting reward. Imagine if Abraham chose to disobey God? How would his life and that of his family turn out? Sometimes all we need is to be patient and have faith that God’s timing is perfect. Our part is to trust in Him and wait for the manifestation of His promises in our lives.

Prayer

Heavenly Father we thank you because of your kindness to us. Thank you for continually reminding us that you are at work in our lives. Help us to trust and obey you because you have good plans for us. Cause us to have faith in you and not doubt because you are a reliable God. Amen