Only Doing: A Sure-Fire Way to Kill Your Promise

This year I decided to do a 365-Bible plan with some of my family. The idea is that we'll get through the Bible in one year and along the way, read devotionals that relate to the scriptures we're reading for the day.

Recently, we've been reading about Abraham. 

I suppose I've been aware of Abraham for practically all my life. I mean...father Abraham had many sons and many sons had father Abraham...lol

One of the key stories about Abraham deals with God's promise to give him and his wife, Sarai (Sarah), a son. The caveat here, however, was that Sarah was like 65 years old and Abraham was like 75 when God promised them the son. Fast forward through Sarah permitting Abraham to sleep with another woman to produce a son (Chiiiiiiiiiii...👀✋🏾!!!!)...eventually God blesses Abraham & Sarah with Isaac...their promise.

Fast forward a bit more and God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, his promised son, as a burnt offering. Abraham starts getting everything together to sacrifice Isaac and just as he was preparing to kill his son, an angel appears and tells him to stop. God eventually provides a ram and that ram is used as the burnt offering, instead.

Now, I've heard that story a thousand times...and, by and large, most of the lessons highlighted that Isaac's almost-execution was an old testament hint to God sacrificing Jesus.

It made sense to me, then.

...and it still does today.

...but this time around I got another lesson.

OBEDIENCE!

Sometimes that word can have a negative connotation. Depending on your experiences, it could bring up feelings of regret for not obeying, fear of obeying (cause I don't have that Abraham-type spirit), or even memories of times you obeyed and got seemingly negative results.

Now, despite all the 21st-century-strange things Abraham did...lol...

I’m amazed at Abraham’s committed obedience when it came to sacrificing Isaac. I don’t know if I could've done something like that. 

Matter of fact...I know I couldn't. I would've had alllllll kinds of doubt. Like..."God, I KNOW I ain hear that right...." 

...but what's interesting to me is Abraham's immediate response to that 2nd set of instructions. 

When God tells him to stop, he stops.

...and yet the only way he knew to stop was because in the middle of obeying that first set of instructions he was:

1. Looking for God's provision (Gen 22:8)

2. Listening for God's voice (Gen 22:11)

1- Looking for God's provision

It seems absolutely absurd to us that God would require Abraham to kill his only son...the very promise that he went through so much time, spiritual warfare, bad decisions, and complete chaos to get.

It sounds crazy to us, and, even in his obedience, it sounded completely unbelievable to Abraham, too. 

In Genesis 22, Isaac sees the fire and the wood, but he didn't see the sacrifice. He even asks Abraham...."Umm....where is the sheep?"

Abraham's response in Genesis 22:8 is one of the greatest statements of faith: 

"God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son."

See, Abraham knew the faithfulness of God...and he knew the promises that he already had...promises to make him a father of many nations, promises of great descendants and the works.

To Abraham, he could obey...because he KNEW the God he served would come through. He knew God would protect His promise!

Lesson 1: When the way seems strange, trust God anyway. Trust that he will provide...even in the strangest of instructions and the scariest of circumstances.

2- Listening for God's Voice

Just as Abraham is raising the knife to kill Isaac (I mean...can we talk about the commitment....cause how?), an angel calls his name, "Abraham! Abraham!" Abraham replies with another pretty bold statement. "Yes...Here I am!"

Can you imagine what would’ve happened if Abraham didn’t hear the angel tell him to stop? 

What if Abraham got so focused on God’s first set of instructions that he missed the next set of instructions?

What if Abraham said, "Nahhh....I came up here to obey God and that's what I'm gonna do."

Abraham would’ve LITERALLY killed his promise!

Abraham was so tuned into God that while doing God's previous instructions, he still tuned his ear to God's voice. He was doing what he heard, but he was also listening for his next.

****PAUSE****

Lesson 2: Obedience requires hearing and doing. While doing what He TOLD you to do,  actively listen for what God is TELLING you to do.

At least in my own personal world, sometimes I get so tunnel-visioned on what he told me to do that I don't even hear him telling me what to do. Matter of fact...I'm not even listening...I'm strictly doing. 

...and by not listening while I'm doing....I'm disobeying.......in the name of being "obedient."

YIKES!

What areas of your life are still running off of old instructions? 
Are you actively turning your ear towards God?
Is he telling you to keep going or change directions?

I pray that we all remember to be listeners and doers of God's holy word...meaning listening and doing at the same time...simultaneously...together...inclusively...

I pray we don't kill our promise by only "doing" his word.