"NOW I KNOW!"

Genesis 22:10-12                 (ESV)
"10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him (Abraham) from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."
12 HE (GOD) said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for "NOW I KNOW" that you fear GOD, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from ME."



Sunday mornings can sometimes become ritualistic as my family generally pretty much follows the same timelines for everything we do. From driving to the fellowship my family attends, to going to Sunday School, to standing outside of the sanctuary as long as I can to avoid the coolness of the building, to three or four songs then a sermon, and then we go to lunch!  This Sunday things were totally out of rhythm as my granddaughter was here with us AND it was time-change weekend, and our plans were to drive to meet her mom and dad after church for lunch!  So the normalcy of everything was upset from the get-go and I decided just to roll with it!

Getting to church was not very different.  But when we went to Sunday School I could tell things appeared to be more "Spiritual"!  When I arrived at the sanctuary I felt led by the Spirit to write the following sentence.  "If America's spiritual condition depended upon YOUR relationship with GOD ALMIGHTY, what condition would we be in?"   I followed that with "All you can control is YOUR relationship with HIM.  Make sure your slate is clean and leave others sins to GOD to deal with."   I really had no idea why GOD was leading me to write these words.  But then our Pastor informed us we would be having a share time Sunday evening and we would be able to speak IF GOD had placed something on our hearts!  My words were already written down, all I had to do was read what GOD had instructed me to write!

The verse above, Genesis 22:12, was highlighted in my Holy Bible around 1985 when our Pastor preached on it one Sunday.   In that verse GOD tells Abraham, who was about to offer Isaac as a sacrifice on the altar, to NOT lay a hand on the boy, that "NOW I KNOW" that you fear GOD.  Now since GOD is all knowing, HE had to have known that Abraham would be faithful and carry through with GOD's command.  However, not only did GOD now know that Abraham was obedient, but Abraham knew that GOD would provide his needs!  Knowing GOD intimately enough to rely on HIM to provide our needs is something that a lot of people never experience.  Trusting in HIM would be a scary thing, IF we didn't know that HE Created ALL THINGS (Colossians 1:16) and will give us what we need to accomplish HIS Plan for our lives.

How many times have I been brought to an altar of sacrifice, only to have a substitute provided by GOD ALMIGHTY?  The list would be too lengthy to attempt to write them down in a single day.  GOD is so much more than what we try to imagine, in words and deeds.  There are times we try to understand why we have been instructed to act a certain way, or do a certain thing, but GOD is only interested in our obedience and TRUST in HIM!  Learning to discern between our selfish reasonings and desires and GOD's Divine instructions can be one of the most challenging things we will ever do.  GOD already knows what we will do for HIM, but when we mature enough to where we can say "NOW I KNOW", then we are still growing in HIM.

HEAVENLY FATHER, cause me to trust and obey YOUR guidance in my life to where I see things through YOUR eyes, for YOUR glory!!