Faith — The Sacrifice - Friday
TODAY’S VERSE
Genesis 22:13a
And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns… (ESV)
“Hey, Kaegen! I want you to meet my special friend! I’ve had him since I was your age…”
Cheering up a six-year-old girl with cancer wasn’t easy, but if anyone could do it, it was my childhood stuffed animal, Riley. Pulling the plush, brown dog from my bag, Kaegen’s face immediately lit up with glee.
I took Riley along for a lot of hospital visits. Over the years, he’s brought comfort to a lot of children and families when I didn’t know what else to say.
“Can I keep him?” Kaegen whispered hopefully.
“Oh, uhm… sure, I guess!” I responded awkwardly, trying to pretend not to care.
As much as I loved seeing this little girl happy, my heart sank a little… I’d had Riley since I was six years old. My grandmother had given him to me, and I had plans to give him to my kids someday. Was I really going to just give him away?
“God, I don’t really want to do this…” I muttered quietly to myself in the cafeteria. “But I trust You.” Heading back up to the room, I prepared to say goodbye to my furry friend one last time.
“Look at what someone else just brought her!” Kaegen’s dad grinned, pointing at the giant, carnival-sized teddy bear his daughter was now holding instead of Riley. “Guess she doesn’t need yours anymore!” he winked.
Thank God…
You can make fun of me all you want for not wanting to let go of a stuffed animal, but if we’re really honest, we all have something that feels like a really big ask to give up.
“God, I don’t want to give up Instagram… I don’t want to give up Draft Kings… I don’t want to give up sleeping with my girlfriend… I don’t want to give up my career…”
However, if there’s one thing we can learn from Abraham’s story, it’s that God is never holding out on us. We can relinquish those big things over to Him, because He has already provided us with something better—a sacrificial lamb named Jesus.
There may come a day when I will have to say goodbye to my friend, Riley. But if and when that day comes, I’ll be okay—because God has provided me with so much more: a relationship with Him.
And that’s the kind of friendship that lasts forever.
APPLICATION
What’s something that you need to relinquish to God? Write it down on a sticky note or piece of paper and lay it at His feet today.
PRAYER
God, we can trust You with anything because You have given us everything. Thank You for giving us Your Son Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice. Amen.
