God Doesn’t Want Your Isaacs
Genesis 22:1-18
Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!”
And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Take now your son, your only sonIsaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!”
And he said, “Here I am, my son.”
Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
So he said, “Here I am.”
And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.”
Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
It’s interesting that the Angel of the Lord said, “for now I know that you fear God…” He didn’t say because you “love God” or you “agreed with God.” Abraham had no idea how it was going to work out, and yet he still feared God. He obeyed.
There’s going to be a point where God asks you for your Isaac–for that thing you love most. If we’re not careful, we can start believing lies like, “God is good to everyone else but He always skips me!”; “I don’t want to pray because every time I do. My life falls apart even more!” Or maybe you’ve felt this one, “God must be mad at me, or my life wouldn’t be so hard.”
Satan would like nothing more than for you to fall into doubt, offense, and discouragement—especially if it keeps you from loving God and doing what He created you for.
God doesn’t ask us to lay things down because He’s mad or likes seeing us squirm. But there is something powerful in surrender.
We All Sacrifice Something
Either you will sacrifice the thing that God is asking for or you will sacrifice the good things that God wants to bless you with. You sacrifice the fruit of the Spirit. You sacrifice intimacy with God to somehow get revenge on Him. You sacrifice your call—which at its core is just to love Him and be His.
God just wants all of you.
Job had more right than anyone to get offended with God (if we look at it through fleshly eyes) and get discouraged. But he didn’t get offended with God and question His love for him. He said, “Though He slay me yet will I trust Him.”
Maybe He’s asking you to lay your “Isaac” on the altar so He can bless you with something greater.
What Are My Isaacs?
An Isaac can be a career, a spouse or a strong desire to find a spouse, or even a hobby. In Genesis 22, God was testing Abraham’s heart. He wanted to see if he loved Isaac more than he loved Him. This brings to mind the scripture where Jesus was teaching about finding life, and how to find true life in Him.
Luke 17:33 TPT
“All who are obsessed with being secure in life will lose it all—including their lives. But those who let go of their lives and surrender them to me will discover true life.”
Things work differently in the Kingdom of God: you have to let go to gain all that God has for you. He’s testing your heart when he’s asking for a sacrifice.
We Must Surrender Everything
Unfortunately, we’ve grown up in a culture where we want to understand everything before we start. We want to approve of His methods before we obey His mandates.
We think we have the right to negotiate with God when He has the ultimate authority. Is God actually the ultimate authority or are you trying to share his throne?
Availability
The greatest thing you can possess is not skills, talent, or credentials. It’s simply being available.
Matthew 21:28-31 TPT
“Jesus said to his critics, “Tell me what you think of this parable: “There once was a man with two sons. The father came to the first and said, ‘Son, I want you to go and work in the vineyard today.’ The son replied, ‘I’d rather not.’ But afterward, he deeply regretted what he said to his father, changed his mind, and decided to go to the vineyard. The father approached the second son and said the same thing to him. The son replied, ‘Father, I will go and do as you said.’ But he never did—he didn’t go to the vineyard. Tell me now, which of these two sons did the will of his father?” They answered him, “The first one.” Jesus said, “You’re right. For many sinners, tax collectors, and prostitutes are going into God’s kingdom realm ahead of you!”
Genesis 22:1
Abraham said “Here I am.”
This takes submission.
Abraham didn’t ask for a schematic first before he said yes to God. He said, “Whatever you’re about to ask, my answer is yes! I don’t need to see the blueprints before I surrender.”
“Revival is nothing more and nothing less than a new obedience and a fresh availability to God.” - Charles Finney
Revival doesn’t come to those who are waiting for perfect circumstances. It comes to those who are willing to obey.
Attitude
“Attitude determines your altitude.” - Jim Boyd
He doesn’t just want your blind yes, he wants your heart. If you’ve got a bad attitude behind it, it profits you nothing.
Be Eager
Eager is not the same as excited. Excitement is emotional and relies on circumstances. Eagerness is spiritual and perseveres even when the path is painful. Abraham wasn’t excited about sacrificing his only son, but he was eager to please the Lord and be quick to obey.
Eagerness is about being obedient to the Father even when you don’t have the emotions to go with it.
Be Earnest
People don’t pray these days, often because they don’t want to have to do something they don’t want to do. They want all the benefits but they don’t want to lay their Isaac’s on the altar.
Have You Laid Down Your Isaacs?
You can’t give God something and then put a stipulation to it, or it becomes an Issac.
Genesis 22:10-13
And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.
Abraham was willing to go all the way. We want God to stop us somewhere on the three-day walk. We want him to stop us on the way up the mountain. He stopped Abraham at the last second when the knife was raised above his head!
He did not hold anything back. At the moment of complete surrender is when God stopped him and provision came. He wanted to know he loved the Giver more than the gift.
And then Abraham said this, “In the mount of the Lord, the Lord will provide.”
What are you holding back from God because you’re afraid he’ll take it away? God doesn’t want to destroy it, he just wants to dethrone it. He wants to know you are wholly and fully devoted to Him.
