GENESIS 22:1-14
We are moving on. No longer content with little faith, we are
removing our gaze from ourselves and putting it onto the Lord. We
are reaching for greater faith. We start by becoming students of
God's Word, with a compelling desire to experience the Lord's
presence, develop greater intimacy with Him, and be conformed to
Christlikeness. A second characteristic of deeper trust is a heavy
reliance on the Holy Spirit, evidenced by the habit of looking to
Him before making decisions. A third trait is the willingness to
wait on God and take Him at His word. The Lord commended the
centurion for his strong convictions—trusting in the person and
character of Jesus, the soldier believed Christ's words were all
that was required. (Matthew 8:5-10) But there is an even higher
level of faith—a perfect one—where unbelief is cast out and only
trust in God remains. Abraham displayed flawless confidence when God
commanded him to sacrifice Isaac. Little faith would never have cut
any wood or saddled donkeys to make the trip for the sacrifice.
Great faith would have traveled as instructed, believing in God to
work things out, but may have balked about putting Isaac on the
altar. Complete faith will act as Abraham did— believing what the
Lord had assured him, yet nonetheless carrying out the divine
instructions that appeared to contradict the promise. The Holy
Spirit stands ready to help you reach the next level of faith. Let
that be the prayer of your heart.
We are moving on. No longer content with little faith, we are
removing our gaze from ourselves and putting it onto the Lord. We
are reaching for greater faith. We start by becoming students of
God's Word, with a compelling desire to experience the Lord's
presence, develop greater intimacy with Him, and be conformed to
Christlikeness. A second characteristic of deeper trust is a heavy
reliance on the Holy Spirit, evidenced by the habit of looking to
Him before making decisions. A third trait is the willingness to
wait on God and take Him at His word. The Lord commended the
centurion for his strong convictions—trusting in the person and
character of Jesus, the soldier believed Christ's words were all
that was required. (Matthew 8:5-10) But there is an even higher
level of faith—a perfect one—where unbelief is cast out and only
trust in God remains. Abraham displayed flawless confidence when God
commanded him to sacrifice Isaac. Little faith would never have cut
any wood or saddled donkeys to make the trip for the sacrifice.
Great faith would have traveled as instructed, believing in God to
work things out, but may have balked about putting Isaac on the
altar. Complete faith will act as Abraham did— believing what the
Lord had assured him, yet nonetheless carrying out the divine
instructions that appeared to contradict the promise. The Holy
Spirit stands ready to help you reach the next level of faith. Let
that be the prayer of your heart.
