The Knife of Obedience

Scripture:  Hebrews 11:17 “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son…”

Abraham’s heart and faith were matured over time before he was required to make the ultimate test of sacrificing his son Isaac on the altar. He was first tested when God told him to leave his country and family and go to a land that He would show him. God promised to make his name great and he would become a blessing. The second major test in Abraham’s life was that he would have a son born in his old age – the first miracle. But the test of sacrificing his son mani­fested the evidence of his faith to another level – that he believed that if God told him to kill his son, then He would raise him up to fulfill the promise made to him – the second miracle. Biblical conclusions of truth are proven, perfected and settled in the heart as they are tested and obeyed. Isaac benefited from Abraham’s walk of faith by receiving life instead of death.

In this journey called life, we have to learn to take the “knife of obedience” to slay anyone or anything that takes the place of God in our hearts. This “knife of obedience” cuts at the core of the flesh, because the flesh is selfish and cannot please God. When the Word of God is obeyed, He can provide a way of escape as He did with Abraham, but when God chooses not to provide a ram in the thicket, we have to trust Him. Oswald Chambers says “Your obedience is going to cost someone else more than it will cost you.”

Prayer:  Lord, what You ask of me in that secret place of my heart, make me willing to be willing to obey You first even when it might cost others more than me.  Your will is sovereign and may my faith trust Your will even when I can’t see Your way.

(by Cheryl Torain)