A man was walking along a narrow path, not paying much attention to
where he was going. Suddenly he slipped
over the edge of the cliff. As he fell,
he grabbed a branch growing from the side of the cliff. Realizing that he couldn’t hang on for long,
he called for help:
Man: Is anybody up there?
Voice: Yes, I’m here!
Man: Who’s that?
Voice: The Lord!
Man: Lord, help me!
Voice: Do you trust me?
Man: Completely, Lord.
Voice: Good. Let go of the
branch!
Man: (After a long pause) Is anybody else up there?
Many of us are people of
routines, things and/or people we depend on, trust, and believe this will never change.
And yet sometimes God calls us to trust in something or somebody which
is contrary to much we have grown to trust.
The story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22 puts this dilemma at the
ultimate level, and we think how grateful we are this happened to Abraham and
not us. Abraham was tested, he obeyed,
he trusted, and eventually he heard the cry of God. But there is so much more to this story than
what we normally see or hear.
If you have time read Genesis 15-22
in preparation for this Sunday, looking at the life of Abraham, the provisions
and promises of God, and the fulfillment we find in the One greater than Isaac.
We are told God tested
Abraham. Look at these scriptures which
also speak to different times of testing, and see what you learn. I Kings 10:1, Exodus 16:4, Deuteronomy 8:2, 16, Deuteronomy 13:3, II
Chronicles 32:31, Exodus 17:2, 7, Numbers 14:22, Isaiah 7:12.
This sermon series on “Divine
Exposures” reminds us God makes Himself known at just the time we need
Him. The “cry” or “call” to Abraham is
certainly one of those instances we can say the Divine Exposure came at the
right time. The Psalms tell us we “cry”
to God as well. Look at the following
verses as the Psalmist speaks for us, and what do we learn from them? Psalm 34:17, 55:17, 72:12, 84:2, 88:1.
Can you think of any other times
in the Bible when the “cry” of God fully revealed the living God to those who
were alive at that time, and to us today?
Thank you for the privilege to be
with you this coming Sunday, and let’s pray together for His glory to be
revealed.
