I put her backpack on her back and sent her towards the door for school.
She was beaming, ready for another day.
Not one question about why I was sending her out the front door in JUST her socks, underwear and panties and not a stitch of clothing. Just her backpack and that beautiful brown skin. Nude…with a back pack.
You see, this GOT-IT-TOGETHER MAMA, has left the school uniform in all the places but home multiple times, sending the THRILLED-ABOUT-IT PAPA on an early morning wild goose chase to the location the uniform finds itself…to dress our child on the way to school. (Think of it as a progressive dinner of sorts…except no food or dessert or anything fun)
But my sweet one, she showed no hesitation that morning. She had full trust that there had to be a very good reason her mama was sending her out the front door and to school NUDE. A trusting that I had taken care of her up until this point, and I would surely continue. Not one question about it. A hug and she was out the door.
If you are our neighbor we are sorry for the public indecency.
Blind trust. Risk taken without hesitation. No questions, grin on her face ready for the day.
I bet Isaac, the chip of of ole’ Abe’s block, felt the same way on that long walk up the mountain of sacrifice with his hero-papa. Isaac was the prayed-for one…the promised descendent. Loved, adored, by his parents…a visible reminder to them of the faithfulness of God after a long time of wondering.
You see, God had promised Abe that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. That’s a lot of kids…1,000,0000,000 kids and counting.
Abe and Sarah had made many missteps and miscalculations along the way, wanting God’s promises for their life to be true, but feeling at times it would be up to them to make it happen. Which got them into some situations that are TV drama worthy. (i.e. Hagar)
But God had been faithful to His promise to them and had brought them an heir. The promise of God, in the flesh; proof that He does what He says He will do.
But now this…that same son was to be sacrificed???
Abe knew full well what had been asked of him on that long walk that day: He would lay down the only thing that mattered to him on that altar and sacrifice him back to the Lord.
Isaac walked that journey to the sacrifice wondering where the actual sacrifice was, with child-like ignorance of what was about to take place.
“Father?”
“Yes, my son?”
“We have flint and wood, but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”
(Genesis 22 )
Both of them, sent out nude, with no explanation, to do the hardest thing imaginable.
Abe laid his promised-one down. Can you imagine the questions on Isaac’s face? The pain, fear and shock of it all. There are no words that could have explained to his precious one the why’s of what was about to happen.
Isaac, as any child would, with full trust in a papa that had loved him well up until this point, believed that there must be a very good reason his father had laid him down that day.
What was Abe’s response to his little-one when questioned about the sacrifice?
“Son, God will see to it that there’s a sheep for the burnt offering.”
Blind faith. Blind trust in the promise of God for his future, his destiny, the future of his family, the future of Isaac-his son, and ultimately the future rescue of the entire world. God would do what He said He would do. He had been faithful to this point, surely He would be faithful now.
Abe walked with knowledge that surely His Father had a very good reason for asking him to do this, the hardest thing.
Abe didn’t get to the spot, look up to the sky and say “Ok God…your turn. Where is it? I know there is a sacrifice up here somewhere.”
He laid that precious one down, and raised the knife above him, breathing in and bracing himself for what would be the most devastating thing he would ever do.
I bet Abe thought back to the moment that baby took his first breaths. Isaac had been evidence that God really did have a plan and really was in control. The long awaited sigh of relief. No more doubt. No more wondering if God was a follow through God…His promises came screaming into existence that day.
This moment must have threatened that secure solid-as-a-rock view Abe had of his Father.
But still, he, with resolve, raised the knife to end a life.
Obedience was definitely at play here.
But, Abe was only able to be obedient in the hardest place because He trusted.
Not just a trust in God, that He was real or that He existed.
Blind whole-hearted trust that what God said He would do is exactly what He would do.
You see, Abe was able to take that massive risk that day because He believed that there would be a sacrifice provided in some way, somehow. God had promised Isaac and promised a line of heirs out of Abe and Sarah’s arms, so because He had promised that, He would do it.
Even if it meant raising his pride and joy from the grave, He would be faithful.
Imagine the I-knew-it sigh of relief when God brought that knife to a screeching halt, and out of the bushes came the sacrifice. Provision. Promise kept.
100% obedience to God can only exist when we are 100% confident that the promises of God stand for our lives.
A guarantee, in this life with Jesus, is that He will ask us to do some flat out risky things. Comfort is not on His top 10 for our lives. Jesus knows that it’s when we take that first step towards that mountain of sacrifice of ours that we start really getting to know Him.
He gets to prove Himself to us, through His faithfulness to provide.
Our heart leaps every time we step out, do the unthinkable, leave our comfort at His feet and discover that EVERY SINGLE TIME He is faithful to do the things He has promised us.
Risk makes us feel vulnerable, raw, nude…like we’re standing on the porch in just our skivvies and a back pack.
Blind obedience feels like shaky ground because we can’t see past that first step. The unknown can choke out any expectancy we have and whisper in our ear that it’s just too much of a cost.
But those are the priceless moments that give us the truest glimpses of our Father’s heart. He longs to be needed, longs for His kids to be desperate for Him to move, provide, speak and rescue. He knows that in that position, knife raised in obedience, we are the closest to Him that we’ve ever been.
Risk isn’t always about a physical action or physical act of obedience. Sometimes it’s a risk for us to simply let go of insecurity, fear, stress, a relationship, our finances, our families….whatever it is that we are clinging to…and look to the One who provides.
God has made us some very strong promises. They begin in the first pages of His word and run all the way through every living and breathing word from Him. We don’t have to wonder what He has promised, it’s all in black and white and a beautiful red.
Do you know those promises? Chances are if you don’t, you don’t know who you really are or what you’re capable of becoming.
Faith is a belief that the promises of God will stand as we lower that knife towards our most loved thing…or step out without seeing a single net to catch our fall.
We have a God that has NEVER gone against His words for His kids. Not one time has He decided that His promises are not for us or that we are undeserving of them to stand. (although we are…so deeply undeserving)
So, friend, what risks are you being asked by our sweet Jesus to take?
What steps can you take today to teach your heart that God is a promise-keeping God?
What would our lives look like if we lived in the wide open space of full and uninhibited trust in our Father? A trust that allows us to look at risk in the face, stare the unknown down, and with a huge grin on our face walk out the front door and into our destiny.
Are you willing to trust Him?
Are you willing to make a move knowing that there is a very great reason He is calling you to do it?
Let’s look at our days, with a wide grin, no matter if we’re standing in just our socks, and decide that He will provide.
He promised He would.
Dig a little deeper:
Genesis 22
Do a little homework:
Go through scripture, starting in the Old Testament, and begin a list of the promises of God for His children. Write them down, keep them before you. They are your ammo with the enemy threatens to cripple you with doubt.
For the Love…..
Your words are like butta. Love you and your wide open heart! Keep on penning these lines. Many will read and hear and learn and love.
Love you,
Lovie =)