Misplaced Isaacs

While in prison, I have committed myself to taking care of my health. I pledged to work out regularly and eat healthy. I have been doing good on my promise. I have been doing so good that I even worked out on Christmas Day. I was probably doing a little too good, and God had some different plans.

A few days ago, I woke up with a little bit of fever and fatigue. I did not think much of it. The next day I woke up with one giant pimple on my face and a few bumps on my body. I still did not think much of it and kept doing what I normally do. The next day I woke up with more giant pimples and bumps all over my body begging to be scratched. I was down with chickenpox! I could not work out anymore and my hunger was gone. I went into a mild depression. Two of the things that I prioritized were out of my reach, and I felt like all the progress I made was gone.  In a way, I felt useless. Then God met me in Genesis chapter 21 and 22. 

In chapter 21, Abraham and Sarah just had Isaac, and needless to say, they were very happy. They had been waiting for Isaac for a long time now. He was the fulfillment of God’s promise to them. Then it says that when Isaac was weaned, Abraham held a great feast. But during that feast, Sarah saw Ishmael (Isaac’s stepbrother) mocking Isaac. So she asked Abraham to kick Ishmael and his mother Hager out. And Abraham did so. Did Sarah blow this whole thing out of proportion? Ishmael was probably just giving Isaac some little-brother treatment. Did Sarah elevate Isaac to a place where he did not belong?

In chapter 22, God asks Abraham to take his promised son whom he loves to be sacrificed as a burnt offering. So Abraham took Isaac for the journey. While they were on their way, Isaac asked Abraham where the lamb for the offering was. Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb.” After they reached the mountain, Abraham bound Isaac on the altar, and he was about to slay his own son when the Lord stopped him.  Instead, God provided a ram, caught in a nearby thicket by its horns, for the sacrifice. Why did God do all this? Did he want to test Abraham’s faith? Probably. Was it a picture of God’s own Son and His sacrifice? Yes. But what God taught me this time was this: maybe this happened so that Abraham would not put his Isaac in the place of his God. We have all had our Isaacs, something we have longed for, prayed for, waited for. We cherish our Isaacs that God has granted us, but unfortunately, very often we also misplace our Isaacs. We try to find identities in them. We try to find fulfillment in them. We try to find our value in them. We try to find our god in them. We put our Isaacs in the place of our God. Maybe God was showing Abraham that obeying Him was more important than the life of his beloved son. Maybe God was showing Abraham that Isaac is the gift, but He is the Giver. 

I have misplaced my Isaacs more often than I can remember. I am ashamed to confess that I have given higher priority to this world than to my obedience to God. I have tried to find my joy in the things of this world. It is funny because the very things that I thought would bring me joy only left me feeling more and more miserable. I have tried to find fulfillment in the blessings rather than the Provider. I have loved the gift more than the Giver. I have dug for myself broken cisterns that could hold no water, and in the process, I have forsaken the Living Water (Jeremiah 2:13).

But by the grace of God, I was bought with a price and redeemed. He gave me this righteousness and took my cross. He took my broken cistern and gave me an everlasting well. The life I now live is not my own anymore. The life I now live belongs to the Lamb who died for it. 

 

Sometimes we may have to walk up the mountain in Moria, with our Isaac as an offering, to meet the Lamb.