Position Yourself for Blessing
“We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Genesis 22:5
I won’t lie; it was one of the most difficult decisions of my life. After 20 years as a full-time worship pastor, God asked me to trust Him and transition into a new season. My initial reaction when God asked me was hesitation: “God, are you sure?”
Perhaps you’ve experienced a time when you heard God’s voice, prompting a shift that you just weren’t quite sure about. Your house is a little quieter with kids grown or away at college. Your bank account is a little slimmer with less income from a change in career. Your calendar is a little emptier with necessary adjustments in your schedule due to health or circumstances.
We know God speaks. But when He asks us to surrender what we hold dear, it doesn’t mean our sacrifice is easy. As I grieved that transition for a few months, God strengthened my fragile heart through His encouragement that He wasn’t finished using me in music and worship ministry. God continually reminds me that He provides what He promises.
Abraham ascribed that very characteristic to God – “The God who provides” – in one of the greatest moments of testing recorded in Scripture. In Genesis 22, God asks Abraham to take his son, Isaac, and sacrifice him on Mt. Moriah as an act of worship. Without a breath of argument or questioning, Abraham obeyed. He knew God would provide. As he leaves his servant to travel up the remainder of the mountain with Isaac, he shares these words to him in verse 5:
“We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
What God asked of him didn’t seem to make sense. Yet, Abraham’s faith propelled him toward obedience.
“6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.”
The angel of the Lord stops Abraham in just the nick of time.
“Now I know that you fear God because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
God provides a ram for the sacrifice, and it is in this critical moment that Abraham ascribes “Jehovah Jireh “– God will provide” as a name of God. It literally means, “God will see to it.” God promises to bless Abraham, and He promises to bless us, for obedience. Sometimes, God asks us to sacrifice the good in our lives to make room for His best. He will see to it that this act of worship does not go unnoticed. Position yourself for blessing by saying yes to surrender. Blessing lies on the other side of obedience.
Is there an area God is asking you for greater surrender? As you release it, you can trust God to see to it. Through any transition, listen for God’s reassurance. He provides what He promises.
Make Your Life Matter No Matter What
With Love,
Angela
