He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, 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.”

(Genesis 22:2)

Have you ever faced a situation in which you knew that God was calling you to do something very specific-such as moving across the country, step into a job/ministry you have no experience in, or change your job-but instead of immediately stepping out in obedience, you waited to see what He would do next?

Abraham, the father of the Jewish race, once faced a situation in which delayed obedience, if not completely avoiding, must have seemed very tempting. God had given him a command that made little sense for a mere mortal: “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering.”

What was Abraham to do?

Although we can not know what Abraham thought or prayed as he and Isaac made their way to Moriah, and we have a pretty good idea what he felt. It was bad enough to face the loss of a child, but this was the son that God had promised and given to him in such a miraculous way. God had commanded him to sacrifice the boy as if he were just a goat or a sheep. It must have seemed like a horrifying contradiction of everything that God had promised him.

Abraham didn’t know that God’s unspeakable instruction to sacrifice Isaac was a test of his willingness to obey all the Lord’s commands-even those that appeared to make little sense. Abraham’s obedience opened the door to all the blessings God had promised him ⎯ and us.

In choosing obedience, even with fear and trembling, Abraham took a huge step toward the high calling of God in his life.

The path to divine blessedness in your family, your career, and your ministry is your willingness to obey God’s commands whether or not they make sense to you.

What “commands” is God putting on your heart today?

How will you respond? ☧