Wednesday, September 1, 2010

My Plans for You: 2) Journey of Faith

Greetings All,

First, I need to thank all of you who replied to the last devotion. The Lord seems to have struck a chord in many of us concerning following after Him. I have come to understand more deeply several things from the Lord this summer. One of them being: “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” Proverbs 16:9

August was a long strange month. After much prayer, planning, preparation and legal issues concerning our nephew, he has gone back to Oklahoma. We believe it to be the Lord’s will, but came away scratching our heads as to what the Lord was doing. A few days after our nephew had gone home the Lord reminded me of Abraham and his journey to sacrifice his son, Isaac, as written in Genesis 22. God instructed Abraham to take a three-day journey to sacrifice Isaac on a mountain in the land of Moriah. Did he question what he had heard? Abraham knew Isaac was the one through whom all the nations would be blessed. Did he weigh the pros and cons? Abraham had reasoned with Sarah on having a son through Hagar. Did he put it off? Abraham knew he would need to split wood for the offering and prepare for the trip. Verse 3 starts with, “So, Abraham rose early in the morning . . .” Stop for a moment and ponder on Abraham’s quick obedience based purely on faith.

“Then they came to the place of which God had told him; and Abraham built the altar there, and arranged the wood, and bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar on top of the wood. And Abraham stretched out his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” And he said, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, “In the mount of the LORD it will be provided.” – Gen. 22: 9-14

Sometimes the Lord takes us on a journey where the destination is tested faith. Along the way our relationship with the Father deepens as we are drawn closer to Him and we come to understand even more, “The LORD Will Provide”.

Paul LaBathe

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