FEBRUARY 1 THE VISION WILL NOT DIE

Isaac, the son of Abraham, was the promised child through whom the vision of the nations was to be manifested. God had declared:

...Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. (Genesis 17:19)

In a dramatic story recorded in Genesis 22:1-14, Abraham is commanded by God to sacrifice Isaac to the Lord. God said, "...Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of" (Genesis 22:2).

Why would God give Abraham a promised son, only to tell him to sacrifice the boy as an act of worship?  We do not find Abraham questioning God's instructions.  In fact, we are told that he "rose up early in the morning" to do as God had commanded (Genesis 22:3).  Some of us cannot be bothered to get up early for a quiet time with the Lord, much less to fulfill a difficult command.

Abraham did exactly as God instructed.  When he and Isaac arrived at the chosen mountain, Abraham told his servants, "You wait here while the lad and I go to worship."   True commitment to God demands sacrifice.  Sometimes the required sacrifice is what is nearest and dearest to your heart.

Although God intervened and Abraham did not sacrifice his son that day, the important point is that he was willing to do so.  Abraham knew that no matter what--even if it meant the loss of his chosen son--God would fulfill His promises.

This road you are traveling to your destiny is not an easy one.  God may ask you to sacrifice certain things along the way.  Will you be willing?  Will you consider whatever it costs you to be an act of worship, as Abraham did?

No matter what your losses--even if you lost what you thought was necessary to fulfill your destiny--the vision is greater than your losses. Abraham knew that if he was required to sacrifice his son,  the vision would not die upon that lonely hill that day.  God would remain faithful to His promises because He was greater than the vision.

What has God asked you to sacrifice?  Are you able to lift it up to Him as an act of worship?  What great losses have you experienced?  Whatever the loss, your vision will not die because the One who gave it still lives.  Whatever you have sacrificed, it was not necessary to retain it in order to fulfill your vision or else God would not have permitted the loss.