And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. – Genesis 22:13

God was very clear when He spoke to Abraham. “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love … Sacrifice him as a burnt offering.” This account in Genesis does not say that Abraham questioned God, but instead that he went about accomplishing his assignment. Can you imagine being in that position? Having the courage to give up (indeed, destroy) the thing you love most in order to obey God?

Thankfully, because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, such burnt offerings are no longer necessary to atone for our sins. Just as God spared Isaac by providing the ram to be slain, He provided His own Son to be the sacrificial Lamb for us to receive eternal life.

Still, there may be times in our lives when God chooses to test us, as he did with his servant Abraham. We may be uncertain we’ve “heard” Him correctly. There are so many voices we can listen to: well-meaning friends, online “experts,” even Christian commenta-tors who offer conflicting interpretations.

But in the thicket of all this uncertainty, God will provide us with what we need to obey. We need to seek His will in His Word, and pray without ceasing for wisdom and discernment when our path is not clear.

Prayer: Father, thank you for sacrificing your own Son so we might live eternally with You in Heaven. Thank you for the example of Abraham and Isaac as a foreshadowing of Your plan for our salvation. Please grant us the wisdom to know Your will, and the courage to carry out the tasks You have set before us on this earth.

Daily Reading: Galatians 5

– Contributed by Tracy Dunn