By Myself I have sworn, says
the Lord, because you have done this thing…I will bless you… —Genesis 22:16-17
{CHAMBERS} “ Abraham, at this point, has reached where he is in
touch with the very nature of God. He now understands the reality of God. My goal is God Himself… At any cost, dear
Lord, by any road. “At any cost…by any road”
means submitting to God’s way of bringing us to the goal. There is no
possibility of questioning God when He speaks, if He speaks to His own nature
in me. Prompt obedience is the only result. When Jesus says, “Come,” I simply
come; when He says, “Let go,” I let go; when He says, “Trust God in this
matter,” I trust. This work of obedience is the evidence that the nature of God
is in me. God’s revelation of Himself
to me is influenced by my character, not by God’s character. […] It is through
the discipline of obedience that I get to the place where Abraham was and I see
who God is. God will never be real to me until I come face to face with Him in
Jesus Christ. Then I will know and can boldly proclaim, “In all the world, my
God, there is none but Thee, there is none but Thee.” The promises of God are
of no value to us until, through obedience, we come to understand the nature of
God. We may read some things in the Bible every day for a year and they may
mean nothing to us. Then, because we have been obedient to God in some small
detail, we suddenly see what God means and His nature is instantly opened up to
us.”
{ELGIN} What are you willing
to concede to God that you hold dear .. of high value? Your job, your retirement, your lifestyle,
your friends, how about like Abraham, your family. Are you ready to lay your family down on the
altar .. sacrificing their prominence, maybe pre-eminence, in your life for God
and His glory? Or, now that you are
saved, are you satisfied with that being good enough and you persist in
clinging to those things for which you have a higher regard than you do for
God? Maybe you think you don’t, but God
will test you .. and the truth, the devotion of your heart will be revealed.
Listen. It’s not about having those things that is the problem. The problem is when those things have you …
they demand your total devotion .. to the exclusion of God. That is not a spiritually healthy place to be,
that is where many of us live. God is
not really interested in signs on your church’s wall about loving God, or the
bumper stickers letting other drivers know that you are a Christian … He is
interested in the devotion of your heart.
If you are devoted to God, the world will know by how you live and how
you love. God’s blessing always follows
obedience .. not intentions or promises … obedience begins in the heart and is demonstrated
by our actions. Abraham had already
sacrificed Isaac in his heart before they climbed that mountain. His faith was in his God, even of he did not
know how was going to keep His promise.
Abraham knew that God is faithful and will do what He has said He will
do. The same goes for you.
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