“When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, ‘Abraham! Abraham!’ ‘Here I am,’ he replied.”
Genesis 22:9-11 NIV
I felt an incredible strong presence of God and stirring in my heart. I felt like God was asking me, “Will you obey me…?”
The circumstances were daunting and I couldn’t believe what I was getting myself into!
Have you ever been in a situation or faced with a decision where you are telling yourself “NO WAY!” No way I would do this … or commit to … or put myself in that situation … and you find yourself on the other side … YES WAY! God led you in a direction that was unexpected.
That’s exactly where Abraham found himself in Genesis 22. God didn’t give him a full explanation. He didn’t lay out all the details, but simply asked Abraham to trust Him one step, one day at a time. Maybe you’re standing in your own “Genesis 22” moment today — a difficult decision, an uncertain future, a burden you’ve been carrying quietly.
I was deeply reminded recently that God is always present at the altar of our uncertainty. The same God who tested Abraham’s faith, may be testing ours. I think He wants us to trust Him to provide what is needed His will, His time, His way.
One lesson the Lord has been impressing on my heart is this: Sometimes the greatest miracle isn’t God changing our circumstances, it’s Him changing our hearts. May we all have hearts that can say, “Here I am, Lord.”
This is also a HUGE REMINDER that we are God’s family. Families don’t just worship together — they pray together, carry one another’s burdens, and trust God together.
One of these days I’m going to share my “No Way, Yes Way” situation with you. Thank you for being family, for your aloha, prayers and support for Beckie and me, our leadership, and for everyone in our church. We never know who is walking through a season where God is asking them to trust Him more deeply than ever before.
