O King of Creation, help me develop a new and better way of listening, hearing, and obeying every word You speak to me. In thinking about this, I recall Abraham who You tested … not to trip him up or see him fall … but to deepen his capacity to obey You. Just as fire separates the precious from the waste, so do You refine me through the difficult circumstances I face. I go through trials, not so I will fail, but to allow You to expand my capabilities. In two separate commands (the first to offer his son as a sacrifice and the second to not lay a hand on the boy), Abraham heard Your command, understood what you wanted, and unquestioningly set out to do it. It is one of the greatest acts of obedience recorded in the scriptures. Like Abraham, I have learned the importance of listening to Your instructions, internalizing them, and doing them. You expect my obedience to be prompt and complete.
My biggest concern is that I will somehow miss Your calling and fail to obey. Not only is hearing sometimes difficult, but obeying You is often a struggle because it goes against what I want to do. I am beginning to realize that I should not expect my obedience to be easy or natural. Sometimes the sacrifice You ask me to make is meant to demonstrate my dedication and love to You. I should come to understand that the purpose of my testing is to strengthen my character and deepen my faith. Through difficult times, I am called upon to strengthen my commitment to obeying Your commands. When I learn to give in to what You ask of me, the return I receive is far more than I could ever dream. As one New Testament Scripture proclaims, You are a rewarder of those who diligently seek You. The spiritual and natural benefits of Your blessings far out weight the sacrifices I am asked to make.
I cannot help but note that, while You spared Abraham’s son from being sacrificed, Your Father did not spare sacrificing You on a cross to save me from eternal damnation. Had You lived I would have died. That alone should lead me to being attentive to Your voice, internalizing what You say and doing what You ask. Because Abraham obeyed, he received an abundant blessing from You. My life has been changed because of relying on You to get me through my hard times. The blessings that I receive from obeying Your commands has caused joy to spring up in my heart and overflow into the lives of others. I know that I sometimes resist You because I would rather do it my way. When I choose to obey, I am accepting that I do not get to pick the way I do it. I can never go wrong by doing what Your Father said “This is my son, whom I love. Listen to Him.” And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
Mark 9:7 Then a cloud appeared and enveloped them all and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my son, whom I love. Listen to Him.”