Legacy of Faith

We continued in our series, The Story, here at Northridge this morning as we looked at the story of
Abraham. He's an interesting man of faith who obviously trusted God with his future and even with the life of his son. There is a passage in Genesis 22 where God tells Abraham to go to a nearby mountain and offer his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice. Abraham is obedient and gathers the necessary material and heads off with his teenage son. The drama builds to the moment where Abraham has tied his son Isaac to the altar and has a knife in his hand when God stops him and offers another sacrifice. It's a great picture of God providing a perfect solution for us and the reward found in our trust in God.

While we often tout Abraham's obedient faithfulness, I wondered what Isaac was thinking during all of this. The passage tells us that Isaac did ask his father a question about what was happening, but it still ended up with him tied up on the altar and his father prepared to offer him in sacrifice to God. The only thing that comes to mind is that Abraham had modeled a deep trust of God for his son and that is what brought him peace of mind during all of this. The legacy of faith that Abraham had built for his son was enough to trust that God was up to something bigger than they could currently see.

I have no desire to be tested at this level, but I do pray that I am building a legacy of faith for my daughters. I hope that they see that I am flawed, imperfect, and sometimes doubting, but that I trust God above all else. If I teach them nothing else through my life but that they can and should trust God, then I can be assured that they are on the right path for their own lives. I certainly don't have all the answers they are looking for. I just pray that they will see that a life of faith in God will not disappoint.

Keeping Pace

I don't find it accidental that I read about the faith of Abraham in Hebrews this morning & also in the Watchman Nee book I am reading. It had me reflecting on Abraham's faith in God's promise to bless him with descendants. When Abraham became impatient, he slept with Hagar to have a son instead of waiting to conceive a child with his wife. I don't think that Abraham doubted God's ability to fulfill His promise, but He obviously had issues with God's timing.

I like to think that I have confidence in God's ability to deliver. The difficult part can often be waiting for God's timing. When we pray and seek vision for growth, development of ministry, and rescue for family, we can become impatient waiting for His response to become evident. We can be tempted to force things and will take risks that are not signs of faith, but instead highlight our doubts.

The greatest challenge in living a faith-filled life can be to maintain the pace that God has set before us. When His timing is right we can be assured of divine deliverance. We shouldn't shortcut the opportunity for spiritual development as we move forward at the pace God has set for us.