SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/09/2006
My Worship Time Focus: Looking forward to what God has for you
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Genesis 22:15-24
Message of the verse: “15 Then the angel of the LORD called to
Abraham a second time from heaven, 16
and said, ‘By Myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have
done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17
indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed
as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your
seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 ‘In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,
because you have obeyed My voice.’
19 So Abraham returned to his
young men, and they arose and went together to
20 Now it came about after these things, that it was told Abraham, saying, ‘Behold, Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor: 21 Uz his firstborn and Buz his brother and Kemuel the father of Aram 22 and Chesed and Hazo and Pildash and Jidlaph and Bethuel.’ 23 Bethuel became the father of Rebekah; these eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. 24 His concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore Tebah and Gaham and Tahash and Maacah.”
The Bible talks in a number of places about the afterwards of the trials that believers have gone through and I want to quote some of these verses here. The first one is from Hebrews 12:11, “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” The next is 1 Peter 5:10, “After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.” The last one I want to quote is from the book of Job, for Job is an example to all who have or to all who are suffering from a trial. Job 23:10: “But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”
Dr. Wiersbe has pointed out five blessings that Abraham received from this trial or test that he went through and I will list them here. 1. Abraham received a new approval from God, Gen. 22:12, “He said, ‘Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.’” 2. He received back a new son. Isaac was now a living sacrifice, (Romans 12:1-2) God gave Isaac to Abraham and then Abraham gave Isaac back to God. “We must be careful that God’s gifts do not take the place of the Giver.” 3. God gave Abraham new assurances, (Genesis 22:16-18). Even though these seem to be repeated from what God had told Abraham before they came to him after a great trial and they must have really meant more to him then. Spurgeon has said that the promises of God never shine brighter than in the furnace of affliction. 4. Abraham learned a new name for God, (Genesis 22:14) 5. And finally, Abraham came away from this trial with a deeper love for the Lord. Jesus spoke of this kind of love in John 14:21-24, and Paul also prayed that the Ephesian believers would experience this kind of love as seen in Eph. 3:14-21, “ 14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. 20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”
Today 06-22-2020: Yesterday in our church service Dr. Gary Anderson was speaking and he told a story that to me, seems to go along with what happened to Abraham and Isaac. A missionary lady who was serving the Lord in another country lost her husband, now when I say lost I mean that her husband went to be with the Lord. This lady stated that we are never to hold on to tightly to the gifts that God has given to us for He may want them back. The words “don’t hold onto the gifts to tightly that God has given to us” are words that stuck in my heart and mind.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: There is a trial coming up this Thursday in Toronto Ont. Canada that will surely have an effect on, not only my family, but many families who have invested money with Andrew Lech, and in the past few days as I have been studying this episode of Abraham and even Isaac’s lives I have been able to relate to is in a small way because of the trial or test that we are going through. The one thing that I have learned that seems to shine above the other things that I have learned through this trial was written in this book that I am using to aid my study of God’s Word, and the fact is that God revealed this to me even before I read it in a book, and that is that I am to trust the Giver of the gifts and not the gifts that the Giver has given to me.
The Word of God has been very refreshing to me as I read and studied it this morning.
My Steps of Faith Today: To trust the Giver of the gifts and not the gifts that the Giver has given to me.
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