Promises

Genesis 22 (paraphrasing)

God: Hey, Abey boy.
Abraham: What's up G-dawg?
God: Do you remember that thing that I promised you, and then you had to wait 25 years, and then you finally got it?
Abraham: Of course! Isaac, love that kid! You're so amazing and so faithful! I will love that kid all the days of his life!
God: About that...
Abraham: Yeah?
God: I want you to go up on the mountain and kill him.
Abraham: Sure thing! I'll get right on it!

Pause there.

In verse three it says that he got up early in the morning to obey what God had told him. Really Abe? You were so excited to obey God in this that you got up early to do it? I don't even wake up early for Christmas anymore. You didn't have any questions? For instance, "Ummm, God, why are you taking the thing away that you promised you'd give me?" Or how about, "God, could you explain to me how you're going to make me a great nation through Isaac if you want me to kill him?"

Nope, nothing like that. Abraham just obeyed.

Yesterday, God asked me to do a similar thing.

God: Hey Mikey boy.
Me: I like Mike better.
God: I'm God.
Me: Mikey boy it is. What's up?
God: You know that thing that you really really want, and I've been telling you that you're going to get it, and I've been confirming that you'll soon receive it?
Me: Of course! I'm so excited!
God: I want you to kill it.
Me: Wait what? You want me to kill it? But I've been wanting this thing for so many years, and You kept telling me that I was going to get it, and You even started confirming that it was going to happen soon, and I've been good...

Me (starting to get inside my own head): ...or maybe I haven't been good, or maybe I'm not ready to receive this fancy thing. Yeah, that must be it. I'm not ready, which means I'm not good enough, which means I'm a bad person...

Me (on a downward spiral): ...which means I don't deserve this good thing, etc, etc, etc....

I didn't recognize the lies I was being fed.
I didn't recognize the truth of the situation.

God didn't ask Abraham to give up Isaac because he wasn't ready to receive the promise. He asked Abraham to give him up because He wanted to make sure that Abraham was more in love with the Promiser than the promise.

Like a parent giving a baby a new toy, I got all wrapped up in this new shiny thing I was given. I forgot all about the One that gave it to me. So when the the Parent took the toy away, I cried. (metaphorically and literally)

The Giver is better than the gift, and if I need to lay some things on the altar from time to time to remind myself of that, then so be it.

God, let me never forget who You are. You are number one. Other things will come and go, other people will come and go, but as long as I am with you, I will be fine.

Abraham had that perspective. He valued God, more than Isaac. What's your "Isaac"? Do I have any other "Isaacs" besides the ones I've already laid down? What do I have, that if I lost, would devestate me?

Time to go pray about it. :)