Go the Distance

Hello and welcome to Beauty – the no-frills, no-nonsense podcast about all things beauty. True beauty. God’s beauty. I am your host and Lemongrass Spa consultant, Deanna, and I am so glad you are listening today. I was listening to a podcast the other day where the host said something that intrigued me. The podcast was actually about the situation in Ukraine. To be honest, I really didn’t pay a ton of attention until she said something that didn’t pertain to Ukraine at all. She said, “I always think about the time God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac…and he didn’t ask Sarah.” I had to skip back ten seconds to repeat that. I had never thought about who God didn’t ask, so, of course, I had to look back at the story to see if there were any clues. Spoiler alert: there were no clues, per se, but I do have some thoughts. Let’s look at this story a little closer. Take a moment to reach for your bible and turn to Genesis 22. We are going to look at verses 1-19, so go ahead and hit pause to read and come back here for my riveting thoughts. The very first verse says, “Some time later, God tested Abraham.” This event took place after Abraham experienced heartache with Hagar and Ishmael. Abraham had to send his son Ishmael away. Perhaps Abraham was just getting over that loss and clinging to the promise he had in Isaac being his heir. In this passage, God is asking Abraham to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice. I wonder if knowing how God saved and blessed Ishmael helped Abraham to walk through this next test of his faith. I believe these tests help us to see God; to experience him; to know his grace and mercy in a real and intimate way. And as we rely on the lessons we learn in the valley, we can confidently face the next battle and know with certainty God will be honored. But is won’t be easy – as is demonstrated in this story. Pay attention to the words God chooses when he calls Abraham. God says, “take your son; your only son; the son you love so dearly…” God was making a point here before telling Abraham to head out on a journey to sacrifice his son. This was not a backyard adventure. Abraham was going to have time to think about this call; this command, as he was travelling with his son and his servants. He was going to have to answer questions – in his own mind but also questions from Isaac. And he was going to have to decide exactly what will happen when he got to where God told him to go. Will he obey? Or will he change his mind? Of course, we don’t know why for sure, but here is what hit me as I thought about this story. Abraham likely knew a child sacrifice would go against the nature of God, so, in my mind, it stands to reason that he also knew God was testing him. He had to know God would not make him sacrifice his son. God needed to see that Abraham was willing to obey at all costs. God needed to see that Abraham’s faith was real. And it turns out, it was. Abraham heard the command, and he was ready to go the distance – even at a great sacrifice. The climax of the story is when Abraham is ready to slay his son and he hears the angel of the Lord speak and confirm his faith. He was affirmed in his willingness to obey – and I think this is a key element of the story. As we read, we also need to see something about God. We need to see that he is loving. That he cares about his people. He is our Father. He is concerned for our life – our eternity with him. His desire for us, as his children, is that we do not hold anything so dear to us that it would stand in the way of obeying him. God did not offer a single reason for Abraham to do this act and Abraham did not delay in carrying out his obedience. Would Sarah have done the same? We don't know the answer to that question, but speaking as a mom, I would have to say no. If I were Sarah and God asked me to do that, rational thought would be thrown out the window and I would have to tell God that’s a hard pass from me. But God didn’t ask Sarah. And here is the beautiful part: God asks the right people to do the things he commands – and it is never a mistake. We can trust that God asks us to do things in the right timing and we can confidently obey, knowing he asked us with the foresight only he could have. Abraham was fully committed to God and this story is an example of exactly what it will take for us to be fully committed as well. No, God isn’t going to ask us to sacrifice our children – but he might ask us to examine the things we hold dear and to offer those things up to him. The question then becomes, will we obey to the limit? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. Is there anything you struggle with about this story? Can you relate to Abraham at all? What is God asking you to “sacrifice?” Be sure to leave a comment or send me a message. I would love to connect with you. D 😊 Before we head out, I want to take a moment to share a few summer products. We don’t know what this summer will bring – heat, bugs, staycations… Be prepared with some outdoor summer essentials from Lemongrass Spa – like Bug-a-Boo and Aloe Vera Gel. As always, you can check out these great summer products, and more, online. Get full access to Shining.Our.Light at deannakohlhofer.substack.com/subscribe