Today's encouragement comes from Genesis 22:1a, where we read these words:
"Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham . . . "Are we believers in the Lord Jesus Christ? If so, then we are the spiritual and covenantal children of Abraham, Biblically-speaking. This also means that, even as Abraham's faith in Christ was tested, ours will be, as well. The "try-ing" of faith is to show forth the sincerity, the reality, and the value of it.
Are God's tests sometimes difficult? Undoubtedly, they are. God asked Abra-ham to sacrifice Isaac, his beloved son of the promise. Abraham was willing to do this, not because he wanted to, but because he trusted God and believ-ed that He (the Lord) knew what was best. May this be our attitude as well.
[Puritan quote of the day: "Grace shall never be idle where the love of God is strong.” —Obadiah Sedgwick, in, "Christ's Counsel To His Languishing Church"]
