A Sacrifice of Faith

Was not our ancestor Abraham

considered righteous for what he did

when he offered his son Isaac on the

altar?

You see that his faith and his actions

were working together and that his faith

was made complete by what he did.

And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed

God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he

was called God’s friend.  - James 2:21-23

When Abraham led his son Isaac into the wilderness, he did not hesitate to obey God’s command to offer him as a sacrifice. He believed that God would not break his promise.  Obviously, he did not understand how God was going to make it all work out. Even so, he didn’t fall on his knees and pray to God for a sign that Isaac would not die, or that Isaac would even be raised from the dead. He simply acted in faith that God would not break his promise.  He powerfully demonstrated his faith.

Another of my favorite stories of faith is found in First Kings 17:8-24, the story of how God sent Elijah to the Widow at Zarephath for food. Verse 12 makes clear her desperate situation.  “As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”  In spite of her poverty, God commanded the widow to give food to Elijah. By the time Elijah arrived and asked for bread, God had not shown the widow that He would supply anything to feed anyone. By the time Elijah came to the widow’s house, she and her son were almost dead of starvation; and yet Elijah instructs the widow to make him bread and to serve him first. The widow obeyed God, depriving herself and her son of their last morsel of food to feed Elijah. What an incredible demonstration of faith, similar to that of Abraham. The Widow at Zarephath was ready, as far as she knew, to sacrifice her son as well as herself, to do what God commanded. In return, God sustained them all through the time of famine.  

The important point of these stories is that they show that God often waits to fully bless us until our faith is first demonstrated.  I have observed this time and time again, and I have come to think of facing the challenges we all sometimes face in our walk with God as “Sacrifices of Faith.” When faced with those decisions in your spiritual life that take you out of your comfort zone and perhaps even lead you to face deep insecurity, consider the opportunity for showing God how deeply you believe in His promises. The important thing for each of us is to profoundly trust our Father in all things, whether small or great, everyday things or eternal things, and to take the actions that demonstrate faith. For whom is the demonstration staged? Surely not for others to see, for that is its own questionable reward. The demonstration is for God. It is our trust that God longs to receive. It is our faith that God rewards. It is our faith and unwavering trust that becomes the true sacrifice to our Father.

Jerry Hoover

Lubbock, Texas