I am sure all of us would absolutely love it if we could get specific promises directly from the Lord via a physical manifestation such as an audible voice or vision. We all would long to hear - as some have claimed - the audible voice of God giving us insight into the upcoming events of our lives. This however, is not the norm.
But just as Abraham and Sarah were promised a nation through Isaac; we have been given promises from God in His word through the grace of Jesus Christ. While we can be assured that every promise Jesus paid for with his life, death and resurrection is already ours by grace through faith; the manifestation will most likely not be in the time frame we desire, but they will always be in His perfect time. However, if we are not diligent in our focus we can get sidetracked and start paying more attention to the promise than to the One who promised.
We need to keep our focus and attention on what will bring glory to the Lord.
I would like for you to take a look with me at the account of Abraham’s promise of a nation through Isaac. The Lord spoke to Abraham directly and promised that a great nation would come forth from him. This promise took twenty-five years to be fulfilled. I wonder how many of us will stay steadfast if we have to wait as long as Abraham did to hold Isaac in his arms. Although he stumbled along the way (Gen. 16:15,16), he held on to the spoken word of God and saw the fruition of those words (Gen. 21:1-3). Even after Isaac was born, God made sure that Abraham looked to God and did not focus on his son.
When God told him to take Isaac to the mountain in Moriah and sacrifice him; do you ever wonder what went through his mind? The morning after this edict was given; Abraham did not hesitate or try to negotiate with God.
And outside of what we read in Hebrews 11:17-19, we have not been fully enlightened to the inner struggle this father must have been dealing with. Genesis 22:5 reveals the words of faith that he spoke when he told the servants traveling with them that they will go further up to worship and they – the boy and him, will come back. That day Abraham proved to God and himself that obedience was more precious to him than the possible loss of the promise.
I wonder how many of us would be willing to sacrifice our dreams or promises to stay in obedience to God. We need to keep our focus and attention on what will bring glory to the Lord. What are we to do if that might include staying sick or incapacitated for a brief time in this life so many more people can be reached with the gospel [for more on that, see here and here]? Will we be content to stay poor in this world if that means God can use us to change more people than if we were burdened with the desire for earthly riches? Are we going to give up those things we think we deserve if we realize that will bring about His manifested presence in and through us? I am definitely not trying to nullify the promises He has established through Christ. All of those promises are 'yes and amen' in him (2 Corinthians 1:20)! I am just encouraging you to seek God’s heart and not His hand. Hopefully we as Christians already know that God wants to be involved in every part of us. But He also wants us to be involved in His works; we need to earnestly seek His heart and fulfill His desires for our lives. I have not obtained it yet, but I long to strive for His glory to freely flow in me and through me to others. I sincerely pray that will be your heart’s desire as well.
John Clark
When God told him to take Isaac to the mountain in Moriah and sacrifice him; do you ever wonder what went through his mind? The morning after this edict was given; Abraham did not hesitate or try to negotiate with God.
And outside of what we read in Hebrews 11:17-19, we have not been fully enlightened to the inner struggle this father must have been dealing with. Genesis 22:5 reveals the words of faith that he spoke when he told the servants traveling with them that they will go further up to worship and they – the boy and him, will come back. That day Abraham proved to God and himself that obedience was more precious to him than the possible loss of the promise.
I wonder how many of us would be willing to sacrifice our dreams or promises to stay in obedience to God. We need to keep our focus and attention on what will bring glory to the Lord. What are we to do if that might include staying sick or incapacitated for a brief time in this life so many more people can be reached with the gospel [for more on that, see here and here]? Will we be content to stay poor in this world if that means God can use us to change more people than if we were burdened with the desire for earthly riches? Are we going to give up those things we think we deserve if we realize that will bring about His manifested presence in and through us? I am definitely not trying to nullify the promises He has established through Christ. All of those promises are 'yes and amen' in him (2 Corinthians 1:20)! I am just encouraging you to seek God’s heart and not His hand. Hopefully we as Christians already know that God wants to be involved in every part of us. But He also wants us to be involved in His works; we need to earnestly seek His heart and fulfill His desires for our lives. I have not obtained it yet, but I long to strive for His glory to freely flow in me and through me to others. I sincerely pray that will be your heart’s desire as well.
John Clark