What does it mean to sacrifice your Isaac? Or perhaps,
God is asking you to sacrifice your Isaac but you can’t because your spirit is
willing but your flesh is weak. Your Isaac simply refers to the thing or person
that you love the most in your life and you find it hardest to surrender that
to God. Isaac was Abraham’s beloved son and Abraham loved him and it certainly
wasn’t easy for him to obey God in sacrificing Isaac. If you’ve been caught in
a struggle between the convictions of the Holy Spirit and the alluring power of
your heart’s desire, I pray that the Holy Spirit will move in your heart
mightily as you read this article. May God create in you a pure heart and renew
a steadfast spirit within you… may the Lord restore to you the joy of His
salvation and grant you a willing spirit, to sustain you (Psalm 51:10-12).
The Attitude in Sacrificing your Isaac
Proverbs 3:4-6 says trust in the Lord with all your
heart, lean not on your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge God
and He will direct your path. You might be struggling because you love God and
want Him to guide you, at the same time, it causes you too much pain to let go of
your Isaac. The only way God can save you from your struggle is if you trust
Him with all your heart. There can be no room in your heart for your Isaac as
you trust in God with all your heart. You might have asked for confirmations or
even prayed that God will change His mind. God is not a man that He should lie
nor a son of man that He should change His mind (Numbers 23: 19). When God
promises He will save, He will. Whatever He purposes for in your life, it will
be accomplished. Psalm 50:23 writes that he who sacrifices thank offerings
honors me, and he prepares the way so that God may show him His salvation. Yes
it's hard to surrender and sacrifice your Isaac, don’t do it with your own
strength. Begin to thank the Lord for the things He has done for you, the
promises He has given and worship the Lord. Abraham worshipped the Lord
(Genesis 22: 5). When you do these, you are fixing your eyes upon Jesus, the
author and perfector of your faith. Your offering of thanksgiving to God honors
Him and prepares the way for Him and you will see God’s salvation in your
struggles in His time.
Why does God want our Isaacs?
(Psalm 40: 6 - 8)
Bible says from God are all things and He is worthy of
it all (Revelation 4: 11). Your Isaacs do not belong to you. What can you give
to God that God has not given to you? What do you have that is not of God?
Isaac was a promised son God had given to Abraham. When we read Genesis
22:1-19, we often think that Abraham didn’t seem to have struggled in sacrificing
Isaac but I believe he did. Abraham however understood that God was looking at
a heart of obedience rather than the sacrifice.
Abraham hung on to God’s promise through Isaac He will make him a great nation. When God had asked him to sacrifice Isaac, he did not lean on his own understanding but simply held on to God’s promise and obeyed God. Notice in Genesis 22:5, Abraham says to his servants that both he and Isaac will return. Sometimes, it seems as if God is contradicting. When we think like that, we are limiting God’s ways and God’s power. Doesn’t it say in the scriptures that God’s ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts? (Isaiah 55:8-9) This however does not mean that God will not ‘take’ your Isaac. In the case of Abraham, Isaac was God’s promise to him. If your Isaac is in the way of God’s will and hindering God from being the Lord of your life, then because God loves us and wants all of us that we can soak in the richness and abundance of Him, He will take your Isaac. Yet, He promises He will make all things beautiful in His time. But, God’s not gonna snatch your Isaac away. He might intervene, but He will not force you. His Holy Spirit will convict you and give you the strength to submit to His will.
Don’t hate God because of this. I know it happens. But
think about His Kingdom; think about what God has done for you. Think about how
privileged you are that God didn’t just call you, He chose you. Meditate on
John 15:16 and Matthew 22:14. The Lord says that He has loved you with an
everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3). This love can only be found in Christ.
Psalm 40:6-8 says that God doesn’t desire or require
our sacrifice and offering. What God desire is our heart and obedience to say “Here
I am”, and that we desire to do His will. We will not know what His will is
unless we have God’s word hidden in our hearts. Start meditating on His Word
day and night, because as you do that, incense will arise from your hearts.
Thanksgiving will arise to heaven and be like sweet incense to the Lord. For
when you delight yourself in the Lord, He will grant you the desires of your
heart (Psalm 37:4). This means that God is the only one who knows you. We do
not know everything about ourselves because we didn’t create ourselves, God
did. And didn’t scripture says the heart is deceitful above all else? (Jeremiah
17:9) What you think you want may not be what you really want.
Just as this song has ministered to me, I hope it
ministers to you:
Who is like you Lord in all the earth?
Matchless love and beauty, endless worth
Nothing in this world will satisfy
Jesus You’re the cup that won’t run dry
Treasure of my heart and of my soul
In my weakness, You are merciful
Redeemer of my past and present wrongs
Holder of my future days to come
Your presence is heaven to me
Oh, Jesus, oh Jesus…
Your presence is heaven to me
Jesus set the perfect example
for you. Abraham has sacrificed his Isaac. God loves you; He has chosen you. He
grieves with you in your pain and struggles. He desires for you to be in His
presence. In His presence is fullness of joy and at His right hand are
pleasures forever more. He says, "I am with you always." (Matthew 28:20)
Got it? Or, rather, done it?
