Weak Man, Deep Faith, Strong God

When they came to the place of which God told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. Genesis 22:9–10 Christ the sure and steady anchor, through the floods of unbelief, hopeless somehow O my soul now, lift your eyes to Calvary, this my ballast of assurance, see His love forever proved, I will hold fast to the Anchor, It shall never be removed. (Christ the sure and steady anchor — Matt Boswell and Matt Papa) Whenever we sing this song I marvel at the powerful use of words to help us remember God’s faithfulness. Because I don’t live on the coast and don’t know much vocabulary to do with the sea and shipping industry, I used to think that ballast means concrete used in building and construction. It does this, but not as used in this song. A friend of mine recently helped me know that ballast could also mean the heavy material placed at the bottom surface of a ship to keep it stable. When the winds blow and sway the ship to the left or to the right, the ballast works to keep it firm and stable so that it doesn’t topple. Just like a ship, when the winds of life blow around you, what is the ballast that keeps you firm and steady? What is that thing that anchors you not to lose hope and enables you to persevere in the Christian journey? What I hope that you may see in Genesis 22 is a weak man who had deep faith in a great God in a time of trial and testing. I hope to convince you that Abraham’s deep faith in our great God enabled him to obey Him in a time of great testing. Genesis 22 is the true narrative of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Many of us already know this story, and because of this, we may fail to see the shocking truths that the story presents. I don’t think that the most surprising thing is that God asked Abraham to go and sacrifice his only beloved son, one of the more surprising things is that he woke up early, prepared the wood, and took a three-day journey to go sacrifice his son! (Genesis 22:3–4) Israelites hearing this are like, ‘Moses, hold up. What? Are you sure you have gotten the story right? Has God forgotten who Isaac is? This is the long-awaited seed. Aren’t God’s plans and promises to Abraham dependent on Isaac? Is Abraham okay in his mind? Has he waited for so long for this son and now he is just going to kill him off?’ What’s even more shocking and surprising is Abraham’s peculiar speech. He tells his servant boys that he would like to go up to worship God with Isaac and that THEY would come back together. (Genesis 22:5) Alaaa! Wait, isn’t he supposed to sacrifice Isaac? Is he just lying? Then when Isaac himself asks where the lamb to be sacrificed would come from and Abraham says that the Lord would provide for Himself the lamb. Basically that the Lord would see to it. (Genesis 22:7–8) The height of it all is in verses 9 and 10 where we see Abraham bind up his son, lay him on the altar, and raise the knife to slaughter him. At this point, Isaac is probably waiting for the director to yell ‘Cut!’ He is eagerly waiting to see his dad get his senses right. He is probably asking, ‘What is wrong with my dad?’ But there was nothing wrong with Abraham. The author of Hebrews helps us to see what was going on in Abraham’s mind. He writes in Hebrews 11:17 that ‘By faith Abraham when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named’. He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.’ Abraham considered God! He brought something about God into consideration. He believed deeply something about God and it greatly affected how he lived. Picture Abraham in an interview by Jeff Koinange after this incident and he is asked, ‘C’mon Abraham, it is through Isaac that you will have any more offspring, everything is at stake here if you kill him.’ And Abraham would respond, ‘Who said anything about everything being at stake? You forget who gave me the promise in the first place. Not even death is going to come between God’s promises and their fulfillment. I have deep faith in this steadfastly loving and covenant-keeping God, who was the One who miraculously gave me Isaac, such that even in me killing Him, He would raise Him up again so that his word would stand.’ Abraham was not even close to being perfect. Chapter 22 just comes after he throws his wife under the bus and neglects his estranged son. He was a weak man who had deep faith. He believed in his great God. I believe that he anchored His faith in who God is, what He had said, and what He had done. This was the same God who lovingly chose Him and made a covenant with Him. This was the same God who made the promise to make him into a great nation through Isaac. This was the same God who gave him Isaac way past his and Sarah’s childbearing age. Of course, he would raise Isaac up from the dead! Abraham would obey Him even in this time of great testing. And even today, I would charge you, to have deep faith in God as a ballast to keep you firm in the storms of life. Like Abraham, we can do this by bringing something about God into consideration. Consider who God is, what He has said, and what He has done. So who is He? He is our steadfastly loving and covenant-keeping God. (Exodus 34:6–7)What has He said? He has promised to save us and keep us to the end. (Philippians 1:6) What has He done? The greatest act of love ever in the universe. Because thousands of years later, there was another beloved Son, who like Isaac carried His own wood towards a place where He too would be sacrificed. This time there would be no holding back of the Father’s hand. This time there would be no provision for an alternative lamb to sacrifice. The Father would execute the wrathful vengeance on His own beloved Son, a wrathful vengeance that was meant for you and me. Remember that this is what God has done for you. (Romans 5:6–9) Uncertainty? And so when you are in a period of such clear uncertainty that the only things you know are everything that is wrong with your life. When it is all quiet from the corporate world since none of the companies you applied to have responded to you. When the retirement date is fast approaching and you still have no idea what to do. When you don’t know whether to say yes to this guy and if saying no will cause you to miss a lifetime opportunity. Consider the God who has saved you is the unfathomable unexplainable Author of this unpredictable life and is now not surprised or worried by the uncertainties He has thrown your way. (Ecclesiastes 11:5) Remember that He has revealed the greatest mystery to you — the immeasurably great fulfillment of His promise in your life, by sending His Son to die for you so that you can sing ‘God’s purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour, the bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower, judge the Lord not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust Him for His grace, behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face. (God moves in a mysterious way — Jeremy Riddle) Employers may be quiet, plans may be silent, but heaven is busy carefully accomplishing your well-orchestrated life. Suffering? And also when you fall into a period of deep testing and suffering. When you lose that dear one. When your marriage seems to be breaking piece by piece every single day. When you lose that job or that deal because you won’t bend the knee to Baal. When the pain of a body part can’t seem to just go away. When you can’t seem to move on from that deep emotional hurt you had years ago. Consider God who has said that everything is working out for your good, such that even that pain is not meaningless. (Romans 8:28) It is doing something. Remember that He is the man of sorrows who is well acquainted with your grief, One who did not consider His equality with God as something to be grasped but humbled Himself to the point of death on a cross and felt the pain that you now feel. Remember that He is not a far-off Savior but One who is so near, so near that you can sing ‘Mine is peace that flows from heaven, and the strength in times of need, I know my pain will not be wasted, Christ completes His work in me.’ (CityAlight — Christ is mine forevermore) As you feel the deep pain, that clearly no one else gets, remember you have a great High Priest who is gentle and lowly and able to sympathize. (Hebrews 4:15) Life’s Challenges? And what about when life’s challenges hit you right in the gut? What about when you feel heavily unprepared and useless in the task at hand? When the baby you have long expected has finally arrived or is still on the way and each day you are reminded of how a clueless parent you are. The wedding is coming up and you have absolutely no idea what to do to prepare for it. When imposter syndrome sets in in a job that God gave you and you even start seeing your performance go down day by day. When you can’t seem to provide for your family, the money issues just keep piling up. Have deep faith in your great God who has given you a new identity in Christ which is the anchor that shapes and guides you through all of life’s challenging seasons. (Ephesians 2:1–10) Remember that you are ultimately not defined by your abilities, your worth, or your strengths or lack thereof. It is your identity in Christ that impacts all aspects of your life such that you can sing, ‘May zealous youth and cautious age, determine not the steps we chose, Great Shepherd guide us through each day, o how we want to follow you, come Living Way our way make clear, let perfect love cast out all fear, be thou our vision now and here, and all of our tomorrows.’ (Sovereign Grace Music — All of our tomorrows) So next time you feel like you are not where you are supposed to be because of your failures, remember that He is the one who has given you that opportunity and has equipped you with everything you need for it. (2 Peter 1:3–4) Entangled in sin? And even when you sin so great that you are sure everyone is going to abandon you. You’re just waiting for that day when you will be found out and people will know the true you. And now thoughts of guilt and shame are ravaging your heart and mind stealing any joy of life that is left. Consider the God who has set a seal on you and has marked you ‘mine!’ (Ephesians 1:13–14) Remember that He came to die for your sins when you were already greatly sinning against Him. (Romans 5:8) Remember that it is not your hold on Him that matters but His hold on you and He has said that He will hold you fast. That’s why we sing, ‘When Satan tempts me to despair, and tells me of the guilt within, upward I look and see Him there, who made an end to all my sin because my sinless Savior died, my sinful soul is counted free, for God the just is satisfied to look on Him and pardon me.’ (Keith and Krystin Getty — Before the throne of God above) Now you can be able to say that even this ‘sin’ will not come in between me and Him because of Christ. You can go and open that closet that you keep secretly in your mind. That closet of skeleton sins that you hope no one will ever find out. You can open them and say even ‘these sins’ will not separate me from the love and presence of God. (Romans 8:38–39) Doubts? And even when the winds of doubt topple you over and you are tempted to buy into the lies of deconstruction, or new age enlightenment, or going back to your roots. When you feel like you are doubting God more and more daily and you can’t tell anyone, because you feel that we will stop respecting you. Consider the God who is gentle and lowly and who won’t break a bruised reed nor will He extinguish a smoldering wick. (Matthew 12:20)Remember that He receives all who are weak and heavily burdened and He gives them rest. (Matthew 11:28) That’s why we can sing, ‘Those he saves are His delight, precious in His holy sight, He’ll not let my soul be lost, His promises shall last, bought by His at such a cost, He will hold me fast.’ (Matt Merker — He will hold me fast) Come to Him with all your doubts. And just like He did to Thomas, He will show you how real He is and that nothing out there compares to Him. Only he can give deep joy and deep satisfaction.