Faith — The Sacrifice - Wednesday
TODAY’S VERSE
Genesis 22:1
After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” (ESV)
Years ago, I spent a lot of time with a friend of mine with special needs named Donny.
“Oh, can we please, please go to Arby’s for lunch?” he pleaded as we piled in the car after church.
“Sure, buddy.” I nodded. Donny didn’t really care where we ate; he just wanted to spend time with me. But it’d been a long time since I’d had a good roast beef sandwich, plus they had an orange creamsicle milkshake he really wanted to try. Or, so we thought…
“I’m sorry, sir. Our ice cream machine is broken,” the cashier explained over the drive-thru speaker. Uh-oh… Considering my friend Donny has the emotional bandwidth of a seven-year-old, I knew this wasn’t going to be good.
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?” he exploded, his speech laced with expletives. “You all NEVER have any ice cream!!! Has your machine ever worked?!?”
Doing my best to calm him down, I rolled up the car window. Even though his tantrums can be frequent, they also can’t be tolerated. Switching into parent-mode, I pulled the car over and snapped at him. “LISTEN, Donny! If you don’t treat these people with respect, I’m taking you home right now! Do you understand me?” Instantly, he began to tear up, begging for another chance. After we hugged it out, we pulled the car back around and tried again.
“Anything else for you all?” the cashier asked, handing us our food.
“Nope!” Donny shouted. “If you all would just FIX YOUR ICE CREAM MACHINE, I could get a shake next time!”
“Donny!” I shook my head.
The word “tested” in Genesis 22 refers to stretching a quality to its absolute limits, putting it to the test—which, if I’m really honest, is what having friends like Donny can sometimes do to my patience.
The reality is, there are plenty of opportunities in life for our faith to be tested, but I’d be lying if I told you I always ran towards them.
But to Abraham’s credit, he didn’t run away. He simply said, “Here I am.” And speaking from personal experience, those are often the three best words we can say in response to God’s command.
“Here I am, God… to serve middle school students who are incredibly misbehaved. Here I am, God… to have a difficult conversation with a friend. Here I am, God… to tithe money I had already planned to use for something else.”
“Here I am, God… to do whatever you ask me to do.”
The next time you see my friend Donny, do yourself a favor and run towards him. And the next time God puts your faith to the test, run towards Him. You’ll be really glad you did.
APPLICATION
Write the words “Here I am” on a notecard and place it somewhere you’ll see it every day. When God comes calling (and He will), you’ll be reminded of what your response should be.
PRAYER
Lord, here I am, ready to serve You today.
