The Greatest Test—Part 4

The Lord’s seemingly inexplicable command to Abraham (in Genesis 22) to sacrifice his son Isaac was a test of Abraham’s faith.  The patriarch would stand or fall by faith.  More than any other virtue, it is faith that determines the fruitfulness and usefulness of our lives to God.  Every Christian’s faith, like Abraham’s, stands on the great foundation stone of God’s power.  If you want to have strong faith, faith that glorifies God, you must think often about the power of God.  God’s almighty power is the great encouragement of faith.  The very life of faith lies in dwelling often on our Lord’s power to fulfill His promises.  Whenever we exercise faith, we must have a promise of God.  Without a promise, what we think of as faith is merely imagination.  Without a promise, faith has nothing to believe.  God’s promises are what we believe; the reason we believe them is His ability to fulfill those promises. If we truly believe that God’s almighty power is engaged when He fulfills one of His promises to us, we will regard faithful obedience to His will better than all the pleasures of the world.  No matter how costly the sacrifice, a Christian will never be a loser for having obeyed God.  Tested faith is more precious than gold (1 Peter 1:7).