https://odb.org/MY/2021/10/25/the-testing
This story about Abraham and Isaac is a story so well known that I had heard of it even during Islamic religious classes in primary school. As I was the only non-Muslim in class, I stayed on to listen since I didn’t have anywhere else to go for that period. At that time I didn’t know Christ yet. The story stucked on in my mind because of the sheer and total obedience of Abraham. He just did as he was told. Full willingness to obey, full submission to God. That is why Paul calls Abraham in Romans 4 the father of faith. It all begin with Abraham when he stepped out in faith and moved his entire clan and family out of the Ur of the Chaldeans to Canaan. And in this story with Isaac, Abraham fully trusted God’s plans for him that he will be the father of many nations. I guess Abraham must have thought to himself that if God could give him a son even though Sarah was advanced in age, God could give him another son if he were to sacrifice Isaac as instructed. Total trust, total faith and total dependence on God.
In our Christian walk, I believe there will be times when God will test our heart to see whether we are truly for Him, to see how we real we perceive our faith in Him. Do we really believe God is real and alive? Do we really believe that God is the creator of all things? Do we really believe that God is our Heavenly Father, who loves us and whose plans for us is to prosper and not destroy us (Jeremiah 29:11).
I think if we were ever tested by God before He raises us to another level of our faith and trust in Him, it is important to remember two things. One is that all we have is ultimately from Him. Like Isaac, if God can give, He can also take away. If He can give and take away, He can also give another. Job lost nearly everything when he was tested but he gained two fold later on. Secondly, I think we can be rest assured that as God is our father and loves us dearly, whatever tests He has for us will never be to destroy us. Instead it will be for our own good and our growth in Christ. In the process, we will become a better child of God. The testing will make us grow in our faith and hear the voice of God better. His voice will be clearer to us as we trust in Him and respond in faith.
I have gone through a few major testings in my life and I can testify that a lot of who I am in God today stemmed from those moments when I chose Him instead of the world – I had stood my ground based on God’s worldview and didn’t allow the prevailing worldview of the world to overpower and overwhelm mme. If God tests us and we respond in faith, it can only make us grow in Him and I pray that each of us will be like Abraham, the father of faith, if God were to ever test us.
Ronnie's Thoughts 