Preparing for Your Biggest Test

‘...After these things...God tested Abraham...’ Genesis 22:1 NKJV

The life of Abraham teaches you several things. First, you can walk with God, yet not know the details of your destiny: ‘…And he went out, not knowing where he was going.’ (Hebrews 11:8 NKJV) Secondly, when God makes you a promise, the timeline is up to Him. Abraham waited 20 years for Isaac to be born and fulfil the promise, ‘I will make you a great nation…’ (Genesis 12:2 NKJV) Thirdly, sometimes you’ll get it wrong before you get it right. Tired of waiting, Abraham fathered Ishmael. If he’d just waited, Isaac would have been born on God’s schedule. Often your greatest mistakes come from impatience. Finally, it teaches that you can have faith in one area, yet experience fear in another. When Abraham got to Gerar, King Abimelech took a fancy to his wife Sarah. Thinking only of himself, ‘Abraham said…”She is my sister.” And Abimelech… took Sarah.’ (Genesis 20:2 NKJV) We all have our ‘Gerar moments’, times when we cave in to fear, self-interest or other people’s demands. Were it not for God’s grace we’d all be disqualified! Next we read, ‘…After these things…God tested Abraham, and said…”Take now your son…whom you love…and offer him…as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”‘ (Genesis 22:1-2 NKJV) Notice the words, ‘After these things’. The tests you’ve been through begin to make sense when you face your biggest test. When you pass it, like Abraham, you can call God ‘Jehovah Jireh’, which means ‘The-Lord-Will-Provide’ (Genesis 22:14 NKJV). And at that point God will say, ‘Now you’ve arrived at a place where I can use you!’