I was listening to Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Day 11 podcast of The Bible In a Year when I realized something I never understood before about Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac.
First, here are some relevant quotes from Genesis 22:
11 The LORD’s angel called to him out of the sky, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!”
He said, “Here I am.”
12 He said, “Don’t lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.”
13 Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and saw that behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 Abraham called the name of that place “The LORD Will Provide”.* As it is said to this day, “On the LORD’s mountain, it will be provided.”
In a way, it involved a willingness to bring back to God everything He has given us and not withhold anything from Him. It is proving that God is the most important One for us.
But what Fr. Mike Schmitz said in his podcast made me reflect on another word, and that word is “trust”. To trust that God is loving and powerful and wise. To trust that He knows what’s best for us. To trust that He is good and would never disappoint us in the end.
Abraham knew God and knew Him so well he trusted Him. He trusted that even if Isaac’s life would be taken, God could bring him back. He trusted that even though he did not understand what God was planning to do at that time, God is still the good God he knew. The God who keeps His word. The God who is merciful and just.
We are not being asked to blindly sacrifice everything without trust in the One we are sacrificing to. Before He even asks us for anything, He has already proven Himself and our sacrifice is our own test whether we still believe in Him or not.
We cannot worship a god who is evil and who takes lives on a whim, asking us to blindly follow him without purpose or meaning. Faith is for our sake, for our own peace. If we have faith, we have peace with whom we follow. We can walk with steadfast feet because we believe that at the end of our journey, God has prepared everything for our good.
We are not following false gods and tyrants who do not care about us. We are entrusting a Father who loves us and who will never let us down.
The thing about hope is that it’s a positive force that shines the most when it’s dark. When everything’s going well, we hardly notice it’s there. But when things go against us, when our dreams fade and when we see no immediate reprieve from our troubles, that’s when hope does its best work for us.
"Where Hope Can Be Found"