Thought for Wednesdsy, 25 January

 Genesis 22:7-8

Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,”

Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

 

Faith is unutterable trust in God, trust which never dreams that He will not stand by us.”   — Oswald Chambers

 

Abraham had faith, God had promised he would be the father of nations through Isaac. Abraham believed the promise of God and he just knew that God would keep His promise, he did not doubt for one minute. So, when God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac at mount Moriah, Abraham did as he was told. Isaac asked about the lamb for the sacrifice, and he was told God would provide one. Such was Abraham’s faith in his God.

Abraham knew God would never break His word, so he trusted that Isaac would be spared. This act showed God that Abraham trusted Him and believed the promise God made.

Mind you we don’t know what Isaac was feeling, although he probably trusted his father knew what he was talking about.

I remember a boy in my class whose dad made promises to take him to football matches or to speedway. These things never happened but the boy kept telling his friends that his dad said they would go ‘next time’ but never did. Eventually the boy stopped believing his dad’s promises completely and as soon as possible he moved away from home and disowned his dad.

Before he left school though, he did not believe anything anyone told him. He had lost trust in everybody. I remember the mum of the family being so sad to lose her son in that way and I’m glad to say he did contact her again but would never speak about, or to, his dad.

In Matthew 5:37 we are told,

‘All you need to say is simply “Yes,” or “No” anything beyond this comes from the evil one.’

Always be careful when you are speaking just in case you commit yourself to something without thinking.

 

Prayer

Father of Truth, help us to be careful in all we say and do. Too many people find themselves in trouble because of careless talk. Lies are becoming the norm, a lot of people don’t think twice about telling others what they want to hear instead of the truth. The father of lies is becoming stronger each day, and some do not want to hear when they do wrong, so they want lies to make them feel good about themselves. In our hearts we know that lying is abhorrent to You and we ask You to help us to guard our tongues in order to speak the truth in love and Christian affection. Amen.