FAITH - THE JOURNEY BEGINS

When Andrew and Norine Brunson first arrived in Turkey to begin preaching the gospel and planting churches,

they knew their mission was risky. To go into a majority-Muslim country and openly share the gospel, conduct church services, and train new believers was bold. Although their work was technically legal, it was not explicitly protected and would always be viewed with suspicion and hatred by extreme nationalist Muslims.1

Even so, it came as a complete surprise to Andrew and Norine when they were arrested and imprisoned in October of 2016. For fifteen days, they sat together in a small jail cell with iron bars on the open window, wondering why they had been arrested and when they would be released. In his book God's Hostage, Andrew described the sense of helplessness of being imprisoned:

Being locked up behind a big, metal door in a foreign country, hearing the keys turn and the bolts slam for the first time, is sobering-you can't be sure about anything anymore. Now everything happens to you, it is a sudden loss of control and plunge into uncertainty.

Two weeks later, Norine was released while Andrew remained imprisoned. Over the next two years, he would spend time in two different prisons.

-sometimes in solitary confinement and sometimes in a crowded cell of devout Muslims. (Andrew said that cell was like living in a mosque but more intense than living inside a mosque. The prisoners there, all held under suspicion of political crimes, hoped that fervency in repeating their prayers would result in their release.)

Finally, after two years, Andrew stood at trial.

Only it was a kangaroo court that intended to convict him to three life sentences for collaborating with the political enemies of the current government—people he had never met. In God's providence, Andrew could preach the gospel at his trial.

I stood before the microphone and listened to my opening words echo around the hall. "The most important thing in my life is my faith." I had decided that even though I was in court, I would preach.

"Jesus told his disciples to go into all the world and proclaim the good news of salvation to everyone and make disciples. This is why I came to Turkey-to proclaim this.

"There is only one way to God: Jesus.

"There is only one way to have our sins forgiven:

Jesus.

"There is only one way to gain eternal life: Jesus.

"There is only one Savior: Jesus.

"I want this to echo in all of Turkey."3

Also, President Donald Trump became intensely interested in Andrew's case in God’s providence. During the final months of Andrew's imprisonment, the Trump administration made it clear to Turkish President Erdogan that releasing Andrew was a priority to the United States, eventually imposing sanctions and raising tariffs until Andrew was ultimately released in October of 2018.

In an interview after his release, Andrew explained the most challenging aspect of those long months of imprisonment: "I didn't know that I was going to get out. I spent two years there but didn't know it would be [only] two years. I thought, ‘Three life sentences—I may die here. Really, it's the uncertainty that often tests the heart."4

Yes, uncertainty does test the heart. And all of us face it. You may not be in a foreign prison on false charges, but chances are, you have looming unknowns.

UNKNOWN FUTURE AHEAD

Do you remember when the use of the word “unprecedented” spiked? It was March 2020, the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, when I first began receiving emails that started with the phrase, "In these unprecedented times…”

For the first few months of the pandemic, the use of this single word-unprecedented-exploded. By the end of 2020, Oxford Languages was prepared to call it the "word of the year." Instead, in an ironically-unprecedented move, the Oxford Dictionary decided it needed several "words of the year" to summarize 2020. It released these in a report titled

"Words of an Unprecedented Year."5

Pretty soon, unprecedented became so predictable that it lost its effectiveness. Slowly, too slowly, marketers began relinquishing their favorite words in favor of less-overused synonyms.

But even if we eliminate unprecedented from our vocabulary, do you know what doesn't go away?

Unprecedented times. We all face them. Whether it be a worldwide pandemic or a personal crisis, there is no guarantee that our lives tomorrow will be built on the precedents of yesterday.

Sometimes, our hearts can be burdened and disturbed by the events unfolding around us over which we have no control. Sometimes, our spirits sink over the unraveling of the moral fabric of our nation. And sometimes, as we wrestle with the uncertainties of our personal lives, we wonder,

"What is God doing in all of this?"

It's hard to find resilience in an undefined future.

When you know what you're up against, even if it seems insurmountable—at least you can problem-solve. You can compare the demands ahead to the resources on hand to meet those demands and then search for creative solutions. But when you don't know what lies ahead and every indicator points to fearful outcomes, it's challenging on an entirely different level.

In the midst of these uncertainties, we can identify with Abraham, a man who faced unknown circumstances by holding onto God's known promises.

MEET THE FRIEND OF GOD

I. INTRODUCTION: ABRAHAM – THE FRIEND OF GOD

Abraham is the only person specifically called the "Friend of God" in Scripture (James 2:23). As we'll see in a moment, he was far from perfect. But the defining attribute of Abraham's life was his faith—his active confidence in God. Sometimes, his faith faltered, and sometimes, it lapsed, but over time, it strengthened.

And in Abraham's walk of faith, God reached out to him as a friend. Repeatedly, Abraham by faith, reached back toward God.

At the start of Abraham's journey with God, the Lord made spectacular promises to him:

II. GOD'S CALL AND PROMISES TO ABRAHAM

Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 12:1-3)

Abraham was seventy-five years old when God made this promise and had no children.

However, on the strength of these promises, Abraham left what was comfortable and known for what was uncomfortable and unknown. Over the next twenty-five years, he would travel some one thousand miles following God's instructions.

III. ABRAHAM'S JOURNEY OF FAITH

Abraham and Sarah started in what the Bible refers to as the Ur of the Chaldees in modern-day southern Iraq. They traveled through Haran (modern-day Syria). From there, they passed through Canaan to Sichem and eventually on to Hebron. As Abraham entered the northern coasts of Canaan, it is possible that he passed through what is known today as "Abraham's Gate" in the ancient city of Dan. The gate is nearly four thousand years old and was erected before Abraham’s time.

IV. FAITH: THE FOUNDATION OF RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

But the amazing aspect of Abraham's life was not the length of his journey but his faith. It was that God's voice would come to him and lead him and that Abraham would follow God in response to God's voice.

Faith is essential to our relationship with God. It is the very basis for even establishing this relationship. 

Romans 1:17 tells us, "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." 

If you are a Christian, it is because there was a time in your life when you recognized that you were separated from God because of your sin, that you could not save yourself, and that Christ took your payment when He died on the cross as the perfect substitute bearing your sin. In faith, you called on the Lord for salvation.

Our salvation is by God's grace, accessed through faith. This was true for Abraham as well. Although he lived some 1,850 years before Christ, Romans 4:3 clarifies that faith was the basis of his relationship with God: 

"For what saith the scripture?

Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."

V. WALKING BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT

The Christian life after salvation continues as an ongoing journey of faith. Second Corinthians 5:7 tells us, "For we walk by faith, not by sight."

Faith is essential to our relationship with God.

The Bible tells us that without faith, it is—not just unlikely, but impossible to please God: "But without faith, it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6).

VI. TAKEAWAYS FROM ABRAHAM'S EXAMPLE

This need for faith is good news for those who know we aren't strong, knowledgeable, or good enough to impress God. All He asks of us is to have faith in who He is and to seek Him diligently.

From Abraham's life, we learn how to walk by faith in an unfailing God during the unknowns and uncertainties of life. We know how to flourish in a friendship with God even as we wrestle with our weaknesses and the challenges in front of us.

TAKE THE FIRST STEP

I. Faith Begins with Obedience

What did Abraham do when he heard God's instructions to leave his hometown and travel to an unknown destination? He went. "So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him" (Genesis 12:4).

Abraham heard God's instructions and followed them. It was that simple.

Sometimes, we complicate the Christian life to the point that it becomes overwhelming and impossible. Following God, however, is very simple. We receive His revealed Word and, in faith, obey Him.

Abraham overcame life’s unknowns by obeying God one day at a time.

"By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went" (Hebrews 11:8).

Too often, we approach the Bible with an attitude of, "God, tell me what you want me to do, and I'll decide if it fits into my life." That's entirely the wrong approach. Instead, we should approach it with a commitment to obey before we even know what God has told us.

Imagine for a moment what this looked like for Abraham and Sarah. Can you hear the conversation they may have had as Abraham relayed to Sarah that God had called him to go to a location identified only as …

"a land that I will shew thee"?

"Sarah, God spoke to me today. He told me we need to move."

"Okay, how far?"

"I don't know."

"Like, we're going on a vacation?"

"No, we're packing everything up and won't be coming back."

"Is it nearby?"

"I don't know."

"Is it in the same country where we live?"

"I don't know. I don't think so."

"Do they speak the same language?"

"I don't know."

"How will we know what supplies to bring for the trip?"

"I don't know. We'll have to bring enough until we can find more."

"How long will it take us to get there?"

"I don't know, Sarah.

All I know is that we are supposed to start moving, and God will tell us where to go and when to stop."

II. Faith Must Be Put Into Action

For faith to be real, it must be exercised.

Sometimes we tell ourselves we are walking by faith when really we are just thinking or talking about walking by faith. You see, walking by faith isn't theoretical. It is action. If Abraham had stayed in his hometown talking about how much he loved and trusted God, he would not have had to face the unknown, but he also would not have been trusting God. Faith acts on what it knows.

When you read through Hebrews 11, sometimes referred to as "the great hall of faith," you find person after person who walked by faith because they trusted in God. In fact, the phrase by faith occurs sixteen times in this chapter. Fifteen of these times it is attached to a person and a specific action they took by faith.

By faith, Able offered (verse 4)

By faith, Enoch was translated (verse 5)

By faith, Noah prepared (verse 7)

By faith, Abraham obeyed (verse 8)

By faith, Abraham sojourned (verse 9)

By faith, Abraham offered (verse 17)

The chapter continues: Isaac blessed, Moses chose, Rahab received .... You get the idea.

Faith reveals itself by action. There's no such thing as a passive faith. Faith moves.

It trusts, walks, works, builds, obeys... all while relying on a faithful God.

When we face seasons during which we don't know what lies ahead and are grappling with today’s disappointments, it's good to remember that God still has a plan. He often uses trials in our lives for purposes that we can't see during the moment. We only have to trust God and take the next step.

Abraham didn't understand everything about his journey, but he still exercised his faith by following God in obedience and trust.

VALUE THE JOURNEY

I. Faith Lives with Expectation

Faith isn't only action; it is also expectation. God attached promises to His instructions to Abraham, and it is clear that Abraham obeyed in light of those promises. Ultimately, Abraham's expectant, action-oriented faith produced a friendship with God. The daily journey of following God cultivated a close relationship with God in Abraham's life.

I don't know a serious-minded Christian who doesn't want a close relationship with God. But many of us like it instantly. We want to see God's blessings when we first believe in His promises.

In time, however, we discover that the very process of journeying with God is a blessing.

It's not the great answers to prayer or the mighty works we see God do in our lives, families, or ministry that are our great blessings in serving Him. It is knowing God; it is the process of walking with Him.

II. The Journey Is the Reward

That's a good thing, too, because sometimes the journey is long. God doesn't always work on our timetable. You can expect God to work in your life when walking in an active faith. But you can't always expect Him to work the way you planned and when you planned.

Sometimes, I wonder what it was like for Abraham the day after he received and believed God's promise. Did he wake up wondering how many days or weeks it would be until he saw the promises fulfilled?

Looking back to Genesis 12:1-3, you'll see that God had promised him land, descendants, and a blessing. With four thousand years of hindsight, it's easy to see how this fulfillment happened.

God brought Abraham to the land of Canaan, which his descendants, the Jews, would eventually own. Eventually, God gave Abraham and Sarah their son Isaac.

In the generations to come, it would be through the nation of Israel that Jesus came into the world as a man and bore the sins of us all. Truly, "Through thee lAbra-ham] shall all the families of the earth be blessed"!

But think briefly about the delay between God's promise and its fulfillment.

There was the land (a 400-year delay),

the son (a 25-year delay),

and the blessing of redemption through Christ (a 1,800-year delay).

This time delay passes quickly on paper when we read it in the Bible. But Abraham lived it out— especially those twenty-five years before Isaac was born, agonizing day after another. And through those years, Abraham learned what we saw a moment ago that the blessing is the journey.

III. Trials Deepen Trust

Anyone can rejoice in faith when they see the promises of God fulfilled. But during those seasons of the unknown, we learn to value our friendship with God.

It's when we walk with God through unemployment, the heartbreak of children who turn from the Lord, through the medical tests and the waiting, through grief, loss, loneliness, and poverty.

Those are the days that try our faith. These days, we turn to God in trust and strengthen our relationship with Him.

During those seasons of the unknown, we learn to value our friendship with God.

Why does the unknown have such a profound effect on our development of faith?

It's because in these days of uncertainty, we learn to cast ourselves upon God’s certainty. When we don't know what the future holds, we value God’s faithful stability so much more.

We learn to value God for who He is rather than merely for what He gives.

EXPECT YOUR FAITH TO BE TESTED

Twenty-five miles from the church where I pastor is Edwards Air Force Base, "the center of the aerospace testing universe."® I've had the privilege of receiving special security clearance to tour the hub of this base 412th Test Wing.

Not only does Edwards provide training and testing for Air Force pilots, but it also tests aircraft.

Each year, the test wing performs over 1,900 test missions.? The level of testing the United States Air Force performs on each aircraft-from wind tunnels to the sky-is mind-blowing.® Engineers test every inch of every plane from every conceivable direction- both on the ground and in the air.

The reason is simple: the United States Air Force wants to know a plane's stress, speed, altitude, turn radius, and a hundred other variables — before that plane is engaged in combat. Human lives depend on the thoroughness of these tests.

Similarly, God tests Christians’ lives to reveal our faith’s flaws. Under the pressure of testing, weak faith crumbles, allowing us to turn to the Lord for grace and to strengthen our faith. God's goal is never to hurt us but to help us. As Pastor Adrian Rogers used to say, "A faith that hasn't been tested can't be trusted."? It's one thing to say I have great faith; it's another thing to see that faith under pressure.

Abraham encountered several kinds of tests on his journey of the unknown. In some of his tests, he failed, and in some, he passed. Through both defeat and victory, Abraham's friendship with God and exercise of faith was strengthened.

I hate to say it, but Abraham's failures encourage me almost as much as his victories. To see a great man, referred to in Romans 4:11 as "the father of all them that believe," faltering during some of his tests makes me want to hang in there and not give up when my faith is weak.

Three significant tests in Abraham's life eventually led to a final and ultimate test. Let's look first at the first three:

THE TEST OF TRUTHFULNESS

Abraham had hardly begun his journey of faith when a famine challenged him."And there was a famine in the land: and Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there; for the famine was grievous in the land" (Genesis 12:10). Because of the famine, Abraham detoured to Egypt. On the way, he became aware of the fact that the Egyptians would notice Sarah's extreme beauty and would likely kill him to take his wife. So, he requested Sarah: "Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee" (verse 13).

Abraham asked his wife to lie. The result was that Abraham lost his testimony for the God he served, and the Pharaoh of Egypt kicked Abraham, Sarah, and their whole entourage out of his land (verses 19-20). Not a stellar moment.

No Christian starts with a desire to lose his testimony. But if, when we encounter a test, we are more focused on getting out of the situation than we are on honoring God, we will walk by sight instead of by faith. When our focus becomes, "How can I get out of this?" Or "How can I make this situation go away?" we begin to trust our reasoning more than God's Word. This brings a real temptation to lose our integrity in ways to which we never would have previously thought we would stoop.

At these times of testing, we need to remember Proverbs 3:5: "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." Our understanding is limited and weak.

We can trust in the LORD and follow Him, even when it seems the more challenging path.

THE TEST OF GENEROSITY

Another key moment in Abraham's life was when he and his nephew Lot needed to part ways. Both men raised cattle, and their flocks had grown so that there seemed to have been competition between the herdsmen for land to graze the animals.

By this time, Abraham and Lot were near Bethel because of the luxuriant Jordanian plain to their east or the land of Canaan to the southwest. Abraham offered Lot a choice in which land he would take. Lot chose the better land, and Abraham generously allowed him to have it.

God blessed Abraham for his generosity, and as he journeyed further into the land of Canaan, God reconfirmed His covenant to give that land to

Abraham's posterity.

And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the world’s dust, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. (Genesis 13:14-17)

Remember, at this point, Abraham didn't have any children, yet God graciously reassured Abraham that He had not forgotten His promise that Abraham's descendants would not only live in the land but multiply into a great nation.

THE TEST OF PATIENCE

When God first promised them a son, Abraham was seventy-five and Sarah sixty-five. As the years passed, God reassured Abraham of this promise on at least two occasions (Genesis 13:15, 15:5). Yet, as far as Abraham and Sarah could see, nothing happened. They grew older and remained childless.

Ten years after God's first promise of a son, Abraham and Sarah lost patience. Sarah suggested that Abraham "help God out" by fathering a child through Sarah's maid Hagar. Abraham agreed to this ungodly plan, and sad consequences for everyone involved followed.

Abraham failed the test of patience when he decided he couldn't trust God. It was in taking matters into his own hands that he ultimately sinned

-against God, against Sarah, and Hagar.

Abraham's lapse in patience led to moral failure.

Ishmael was born as a result, and tension between Ishmael and Isaac (Abraham's future son) followed them throughout their lives and beyond.

Once again, we are reminded of the admonition in Proverbs 3:5 to "lean not unto thine own understanding." When we lose patience in God's timing, we lose faith in God. And when we lose faith in God, we expend our energy trying to manipulate our situation and plan our future, often without regard for God’s clear commands.

Abraham's failure led to a loss of fellowship with God. It would be thirteen years from the birth of Ishmael (Abraham's son by Hagar) until God spoke again to Abraham. But He did. He once again confirmed His previous covenant with Abraham, specifying that the promised son would come through Sarah (precisely as God had planned).

And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. (Genesis 17:15-19)

At this point, Abraham was one hundred years old, and Sarah was ninety years old. It had been twenty-five years since God had first promised this son to Abraham. Even at that time, when Abraham and Sarah were seventy-five and sixty-five, it would have been impossible for her to conceive.

But now, there could be no question that what God was about to do was truly miraculous. Humanly speaking, it was so miraculous that it was ridiculous. It was so absurd that Abraham laughed. And so did Sarah when she heard the same news.

And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age, and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore, Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? (Genesis 18:10-12)

God responded to Sarah's laughter with a question and promise: "Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son" (Genesis 18:14). 

Sarah did have that son, and in a decision that seems to have involved a hint of self-owning humor, Abraham and Sarah named him Isaac, which means "laughter."

Isaac's birth reminds us of an essential truth to hold onto when facing the unknown: nothing is too hard for God.

And since nothing is too hard for God, we don't have to "help Him out" to keep His promises. God is capable of fulfilling His Word without our intervention.

We tend to run ahead of God and call it "belief." We believe God made a promise to us, but we feel we have to make it special, even sinful, as Abraham and Sarah did with Hagar arrangements to fulfill it. How much better it would be for us to trust God and allow Him to work two miracles in one: fulfilling His promise and growing our patience.

One of the very reasons that God sometimes allows delays is to work patience in our hearts: "Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing" (James 1:3-4). So don't short-circuit that process of patience by fleshly intervention. God has not forgotten you. He knows your name and your address. He still cares for you. And you can rest assured that He will keep every one of His promises to you even when the path to their fulfillment leads through the unknown.

A SHOCKING TWIST

After the birth of Isaac, Abraham and Sarah settled into new routines. Life was good. God had kept His incredible promise, and now their job was to raise this miraculously conceived son and teach him to know and follow God.

But some years later, apparently, when Isaac was a teenager, Abraham's life was upended by a most unusual command from God:

And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

(Genesis 22:2)

If you didn't already know how Genesis 22 ends, this command from God would be shocking- even scandalous. God is telling him to offer his son... as a burnt sacrifice. Really?

Abraham, human as he was, was a godly man.

Throughout his life, he had made sacrifices to the Lord. There was the time he gave tithes to the priest of Melchizedek, probably a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ (Hebrews 7:1-3). 

There was a time when God instructed Abraham to prepare a sacrifice to seal God's covenant with him. Abraham did so, but before he could light the sacrifice, God caused him to fall into a deep sleep and burned up the sacrifice with His own presence (Genesis 15).

This signified that although God had made a covenant with Abraham, God was assuming full not responsibility for the fulfillment of this covenant.

But now, Abraham is being asked to make the ultimate sacrifice, offering up his son.

I remember like it was yesterday when our oldest son was diagnosed with cancer. For the first months of his treatment, it seemed like every report was negative. He had to have two extensive surgeries, and both brought serious complications.

Then, in his already weakened condition, he had to start chemo.

While sharing with a friend how afraid I felt for Larry and what the future might hold, he asked me a question that I frankly didn't want to hear:

"Have you ever had an 'Abraham moment' when you completely yielded Larry to the Lord?" I didn't know how to answer him. I wanted to sound godly and say, "Of course, whatever God wants is what I want." But I hadn't had that moment and wasn't even sure I could or wanted to. I didn't want God to take my son.

A day or two later, Terrie and I were in our kitchen talking, as usual, about Larry and also, as usual, crying. I mentioned the question my friend had posed about an "Abraham moment" and asked Terrie, "Have you had that moment?" I'm not sure what I expected her to say. Although Terrie is often a stronger Christian than I am, I want her to tell me that my friend's question was irrational and that God would never expect us to release Larry to Him like that fully. But Terrie didn't flinch. "I have," she said. "I pray that God heals our son, but I told Him I trust Him to do what is best."

It was Terrie's faith that strengthened me to yield Larry and the outcome of his cancer battle to the Lord, fully trusting that He would do what was best.

God did heal Larry, and we thank Him every day for it. But I don't think I'll ever forget the excruciating pain of reaching complete trust.

I think of it every time I read the story of Abraham.

I feel Abraham's unrecorded pain as he hears God

call him to sacrifice his son—to lay him down on an altar and thrust him through with a knife.

Surely, as Abraham heard God's instructions, he felt a gut-wrenching pain. But whatever anguish he felt, he didn't hesitate. 

He got up early in the morning to do as God commanded (Genesis 22:3).

The New Testament gives us a glimpse into Abraham's thought process here. It tells us that Abraham reasoned that since God had promised a blessing through Isaac, and since God was commanding Abraham to kill Isaac, then God must be able to raise Isaac from the dead.

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. (Hebrews 11:17-19)

Think about it, though: when had Abraham ever seen or heard of someone raised from the dead? Until this point in history, we have no biblical or historical record of a resurrection. Abraham simply believed God could do the impossible. It was raw faith in its purest form.

As Abraham and Isaac saw Mount Moriah, the modern-day Temple Mount in Jerusalem, in the distance, God told them, "This is the place." I can only imagine what Abraham thought as he and Isaac climbed the mountain. Did he wonder if he would have the strength to follow through? Did he wonder if he could bear the pain of it? If Isaac could accept that this was of God?

Isaac asked where the lamb for the sacrifice was, and Abraham responded vaguely but firmly, "My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering" (Genesis 22:8). As it turned out, those words had a double meaning.

Abraham bound Isaac to the altar and raised a knife to take his son's life. Did his mind race? Or did time freeze? Was he reminding himself that God would raise Isaac from the dead?

Suddenly, God intervened.

And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. 

And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. (Genesis 22:11-13)

God Himself provided the sacrifice, just as Abraham had told Isaac.

And four thousand years later, God provided Himself as the sacrifice. Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God, voluntarily gave His life for our sin. Like Isaac, Jesus willingly laid down His life. And like the ram, Jesus became our substitute—He died in our place.

Thus, God entrusted Abraham with the amazing privilege of living out a story that would be a forward-facing picture of Jesus. In this ultimate sacrifice that God called Abraham to make, we see an example of faith and Jesus.

Could it be that one of the reasons God leads us through uncertain times is that we might freshly look to Jesus? If hard times lead us to a fresh look at the cross and a renewed dependence on Jesus, they are blessings in disguise.

ABUNDANT BLESSINGS

Above the pantry door in our home hangs a wooden sign that simply reads, "Call unto me, and I will answer thee." The phrase is from Terrie's favorite verse, Jeremiah 33:3, which continues, "... and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."

Sometimes, we imagine that we know what is best for us. We know when and how God should answer our prayers. We know He should immediately remove us from the uncertainty and tests of faith that He allows in our lives.

In reality, God allows us to experience unpredictable, unknown, unprecedented times that might bring us unimagined blessings. He invites us to a life of friendship with Him, a faith journey. And He promises us that as we walk by faith and bring our needs to Him in prayer, He will answer us with "great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."

Anyone can walk the known paths. Friends of God find resilience through faith to walk with God.

And in the journey they experience unprecedented blessings.