Crossroads of Faith

Tuesday, May 24 Crossroads of Faith Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 Recommended Reading Hebrews 11:17-19 When God makes a promise, we assume it is for keeps and plan accordingly. But what if God then gives instructions that, if carried out, would invalidate the planned-for results of the prior promise He made? What does faith require? We could argue with God about the new instructions: "What about Your original promise?" Or we could try to reconcile how two contradictory actions could result in a promise kept in a new way. Abraham faced that crossroads. God told Abraham he would be the father of a great nation and gave he and Sarah a son as proof--a son from whom a nation would grow. Then God asked Abraham to offer up the son, Isaac, as a sacrifice--kill the son and the vision he represented. How could a nation grow from Abraham's seed if the seed is killed? Abraham concluded, by faith, that God intended to raise Isaac from the dead in order to fulfill His promise of a nation (Hebrews 11:17-19). Abraham passed God's trust-test and was allowed to sacrifice a ram instead of his son. That's what faith does--trusts God even when God's ways go far beyond our own in understanding. Faith then goes out with joy and peace and anticipation (Isaiah 55:8-9, 11). To fear and not be afraid--that is the paradox of faith. A. W. Tozer Read-Thru-the-Bible Job 10:1-13:28