I like the story that is told about an old dog and a boy. The old dog was named Belker. It had cancer and a veterinarian was preparing to put him to sleep. The owners had brought their four-year-old son Shane to observe the procedure and to say good-bye to Belker. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped away peacefully. Shane seemed to be at peace about the matter. His parents said that it would be nice if dogs lived about as long as humans do. They wondered why animal lives are so much shorter. Little Shane spoke up and said, “I know why. You see, it takes a long time for people to learn how to live a good life, loving everybody and being nice. But dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay as long.” Ah, such wisdom from a child!
It certainly took the Lord a long time to train Abraham, the father of the Jewish people. Abraham lived 175 years and experienced some tough times in God’s school of faith. We read about his supreme test in Genesis 22. Indeed, this experience makes every parent cringe. When Abraham and his wife Sarah were thought to be much too old to conceive a child, God finally gave them a son, Isaac. God promised that through Isaac, Abraham would have descendents as numerous as the stars in the sky, and his descendents would be God’s special people, a blessing to the whole world.
Then, in Genesis 22, verse 1, we read that God “tested” Abraham. The old man received a command from God that must have broken his heart: “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”
No doubt, old Abe did not sleep a wink that night. He must have thought—if I return home without Isaac, dear old Sarah will die of heartbreak. Yet Abraham did not complain or argue with God.
Early the next morning Abraham took Isaac and headed for Moriah. Isaac was at least nine years old and perhaps as old as fifteen or sixteen. In verse 7, the boy asks his father a heart-rending question, “Father, the fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Old Abe must have swallowed hard and tried to compose himself before replying, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”
Verse 5 reveals that old Abe still hoped that God would save or restore his son’s life. He says to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” The New Testament book of Hebrews sheds some light on Abraham’s faith. Hebrews 11, verse 19, tells us that “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead…”
You remember the rest of the story. Just when Abraham lifted the knife to slay the boy, an angel of the Lord shouted, “Abraham, Abraham, do not lay a hand on the boy.” Abraham probably fell to the ground and wept like a baby. Then quickly, he unbound his son and removed him from the altar. He looked up and saw a ram caught in a thicket. The Lord had indeed provided a sacrifice for the altar.
The Lord was testing the old man. He knew how Abraham doted on that boy. God wanted to be sure that Abraham’s allegiance to God was even greater than his love for his son. Abraham was the only person God ever asked to prove that he loved God more than his own son. Abraham passed this supreme test and spared us from ever facing such a test. Therefore, we honor Abraham as our father in the faith. (1)
From this unforgettable story of faith, let me extract two great truths and apply them to our hearts.
FIRST, ALL PEOPLE OF FAITH WILL BE TESTED. Not as Abraham was, but all of us will be tested. Without testing, one’s faith gets flabby. Remember, if you want to improve your cardio-vascular condition, you must exercise. You must test and stress that cardio-vascular system in order to improve it. So it is with faith too.
God tests us but he does not tempt us. In James 1, verse 13, we read, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil; nor does he tempt anyone.”
In that same chapter, James says, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4)
I am not nearly mature enough in Christ to consider trials or tests as “pure joy,” but then God still has much work to do with me.
You know, God is not like a recreational director on a cruise ship, just wanting to make sure we are having a good time. God’s aim is to save us and then to mature us, to grow us into Christ-like people. That involves testing!
Let me ask you a question. As you look back over your life, think of the times when you did the most growing and maturing. Were those periods when life was tranquil and easy or were those periods of difficulty? My guess is that we do most of our growing and maturing during times of stress and difficulty.
There is a poem by Robert Browning Hamilton that is locked in my heart because I have personally experienced its truth—
“I walked a mile with pleasure; she chattered all the way,
But left me none the wiser for all she had to say.
I walked a mile with sorrow and not a word said she;
But oh the things I learned from her when sorrow walked with me.”
Frances Perkins was Secretary of Labor in the Franklin Roosevelt Administration. She had known FDR in his earliest years when he was the rich son of privilege from Hyde Park, graduate of Harvard. At that time she noted a certain easy arrogance about him. But later, after he was stricken by polio, she saw a different FDR. After his body had been twisted by paralysis, after he had endured a long nighttime of pain, there was a new tenderness in his heart and a new compassion in his soul. (2) God cannot grow great people of faith unless they spend some time in the school of stress. Hard times refine people of faith just as fire refines precious metals. If you are a follower of Jesus, you will be tested.
Here is the second truth: GOD WILL PROVIDE AS MUCH HELP AS YOU WILL RECEIVE. The most important help he provides is for our greatest need—forgiveness and salvation. Because all of us are tainted by sin, there is no way we can spend eternity with a perfect God unless our sin problem is resolved. That requires someone able and willing to pay for our sin. That requires someone who has no sin problem of his own. That requires someone perfect and full of love for us. Indeed, that requires God himself. And so, Jesus, God in human form, went to a cross as the perfect sacrifice for the sin of all believers.
The saga of Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah was a preview of the cross of Calvary. The eternal Christ-Spirit, probably said to God the Father, “Father, we will come back to this same mountain one day, won’t we?” And God the Father said, “Yes, Son, we will return here.” And the Christ-Spirit said, “And when we return, I will be the sacrifice on the altar, isn’t that true?” And God the Father, who would not allow Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, was willing to sacrifice his Son for us, so great is his love for us. And so, many centuries later when John the Baptist saw Jesus, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29)
God not only provides forgiveness and salvation, but also grace sufficient for every need. To call on God is to make the ultimate 9-1-1 call. God is instantly available to all believers to help in wise and wonderful ways.
Many years ago while serving as pastor in Hartsville, South Carolina, the Rudick family was in my church. A little boy named Allen was born into their family. He was a Down syndrome child, and his heart had no partitions as normal hearts do. The doctors doubted that Allen could survive until he was old enough for surgery. But he did. And I am convinced that the prayers of that congregation were crucial. When Allen was six months old, his family took him to Children’s Hospital in Birmingham. The surgeon there told us that the odds were no better than 50/50 that Allen could survive the surgery. We prayed with the surgeon before the operation and all during it. Allen made it through.
Just imagine the joy it brought me to receive a note from Allen’s mother 18 years later. Judy informed me that Allen had graduated from high school and had received his Eagle Scout award in the same month. He was named Student of the Year at his high school. He was also serving on the Board of Trustees of his local church. Judy added: “I remember how anxious we were during Allen’s first year in this world. I cannot describe how much joy that boy has brought into my life. God has been faithful and his blessings abundant.”
God’s grace had been gloriously sufficient for the Rudicks, and that same help is available to us.
Remember, your extremity is God’s opportunity! When you’re at the end of your rope, tie a knot, hold on, and pray. God delights in answering the prayers of his people. God may not do exactly what you wish when you want it, but God’s help will be wise, loving, and timely.
Old Abraham would always look back on that day at Mount Moriah as the highlight of his life, though at the time he would have called it the most agonizing day of his life. It was his supreme test. On the anvil of a broken heart, God forged a great man of faith. Old Abe was willing to trust God with his dear son Isaac. God gave him back his son and so much more. God made Abraham the epitome of faith, the standard for all future generations.
There are still some mysteries in my life, as there must be in yours. I don’t understand why God has allowed me to experience some heartbreak and pain and to endure some tough tests. But I tell you what I believe. I believe that one day we will no longer see through a glass darkly….one day when the mist has rolled away and our spiritual vision is 20/20…one day when we’ve drunk our last cup of sorrow and all trouble is behind us…one day when the final line is drawn and all the figures are added up…one day when heaven comes permanently our souls to greet and glory forever crowns the mercy seat…one day we’ll understand it better by and by.
And one day we shall thank the Lord…for every tear, for every fear, for ever ounce of trouble, for all the testing and turmoil, because we will understand then how he used it all for our good and his glory. We’ll understand it better, by and by. (3) Until then, O God, give us the faith of Abraham.
(1) Cooper, Edwin M., Jr., A Month of Sundays, (XPress Printing: Columbus, GA, 1998), p.
(2) Taylor, Gardner, The Words of Gardner Taylor, Vol. 3, compiled by Edward L. Taylor, (Judson Press: Valley Forge, 2000), pp. 60-61.
(3) Ibid., p. 86.