Hold Nothing Back

It’s not a new concept for most of us who have grown up in the church. We talk about “giving our all,” or “sacrificial living,” or “giving until it hurts,” and many other phrases that indicate we are fully yielded to God. But I wonder how much we mean it and live it.

Abraham got it in a way that few people ever do. God said, “Get up and go to the place I will show you.” And Abraham got up and went. God said, “I will give you a son in your old age.” Abraham believed, but gave in to Sarah’s pleading and Ishmael was born. God said, “I still plan to give you a son through Sarah.” And He did and Isaac was born to Abraham when he was 100 years old and Sarah was 90. Amazing!

Now a few years later, God told Abraham to take Isaac and “Go to a place I will show you and sacrifice your son.” And Abraham got up and took Isaac and went! I wonder if you or I would be able to do that. I think I would be saying, “I don’t think I heard you right, God. Surely you don’t mean that. You just gave me this son so it doesn’t make any sense that you would tell me to sacrifice him. Do you want to try again? I’m sure I’ll hear it differently the next time.” But Abraham got up and went!

There are a couple clues along the way that Abraham thought there might be more to it than what appeared at the moment even as he trusted and obeyed. When he left the servants and took Isaac to the place of sacrifice, he said, “We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Genesis 22:5b. It sounds like Abraham is believing what God told him previously about his offspring becoming “too numerous to count.” Genesis 16:10 Yet he continued to go forward with Isaac. He went all the way to binding Isaac and placing him on the altar and raising his knife. Thankfully, God intervened and provided a ram caught in the thicket. Abraham must have felt great relief. [Big sigh!]

For many years, I have read this and would not allow myself to stop and ponder what Abraham was doing. It was so foreign and far from my imagination that a father could slay his son, I would read over it quickly and not allow it to penetrate my mind too deeply. I pushed Abraham and what he did as far out of my focus as I could and focused instead on the trauma of Isaac and wondered how this incident affected his relationship with his father from there on out.

But now, as I ponder, I think, “Talk about a teachable moment!” Surely after the incident was over, Abraham hugged Isaac thanking God for returning his son to him. And he likely took the opportunity to teach Isaac about listening to God and obeying even if he doesn’t fully understand. God can be trusted – even with the most precious belonging we have!
 
“Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” Genesis 22:12

Now I must ponder, what is my most precious belonging? Can I give this to God to do with as He will, or do I hold on to it/him/her tightly, fearing what would happen to me if I ‘lost’ this possession. What am I holding back? Could I come to a point of trusting God that would allow me to not just give it up but to actually sacrifice it and leave it to God if He will restore it or keep it?

I cannot come to a place of sacrificial living until I trust in God’s deep love for me. When I realize that God held nothing back including His One and Only Son Jesus in order to provide a way to restore my relationship with Him, I can begin to come to a place of trust that says, “I hold nothing back from You, God. I am willing to sacrifice it all to live in obedience to you.” God used Isaac to bring about Jacob who became Israel and had 12 sons whose descendants became the 12 tribes of Israel and after several generations birthed the Messiah. God can do big things when we are willing to obey – whatever He is asking us to do.

Oh Lord, show me what I am holding back and help me to release my hold on it and live in obedience to You. While I struggle to let go, I can hardly wait to see what you will do with your infinite wisdom, power, and love applied to my most precious possession. Amen.