There are bad days and then there are unbelievably horrible days. What does one do?

What could have been worse for Abraham than to hear his God tell him to sacrifice his only beloved son—his longed-for son, the one he delighted in? What would he do? Would he rebel, sink into despair, languish in self-pity, or all of the above? What do you do when faced with insurmountably bad news? May we look to Abraham, our father in the faith (Galatians 3:7) as an example of how to respond.

The very next morning after God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, his only son, Abraham got up early and set out to obey. He could have said, “I’d better pray about this and make sure this is exactly what God wants me to do.” So often “we” choose to pray about things only as a stall tactic, to wait until the conviction passes. Abraham obeyed immediately. I expect that while en route, Abraham prayed seeking the Lord’s strength, but he obeyed.

Then when they arrived at Mt. Moriah, where God instructed him to go, what was Abraham’s attitude when his servant asked what he was doing? Did he pour out all his woes to evoke sympathy so that the servant would “pray” for him? No. Abraham said he was going to “worship.” His focus was not on himself or his troubles but on his God. When in trouble, we must get our eyes off of ourselves, obey, and worship. Try it!

“And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.” (Genesis 22:5)

This is our confidence: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28) 

Steve