God Has More For You

“In order to move forward in any plan God has for us, we must be willing to walk away from what we know.”

- Unknown

Would you say you are a risk taker, ready to dive into a new adventure, regardless of the outcome? Or do you prefer more of a slow and steady life, playing it safe with what you know is secure?

Today I’m asking you to take a risk. I believe God has more for us in 2022! We’re not called to just live, but to an abundant, joy filled life.

We are not just called to be Christ followers, but to imitate Jesus in everything we do. People should notice there is something different about us.

Let’s look at the example of Abraham and Isaac. God promised Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation through Isaac and that his heirs would be as many as the stars in the sky (Gen 15:5).

If you follow along on the account of Abraham’s testing in Genesis 22, you’ll see that God told Abraham to “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about” (v 2).  What? I can’t even begin to wrap my mind around that!

What does Abraham do? He takes a risk. It’s a risk of stepping out in obedience and faith to believe that God will provide. Verse 8 tells us that Abraham told Isaac, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” He doesn’t know how, but even if it is through the death of Isaac, Abraham obeys.

As you know, with Isaac on the altar and Abraham raising the knife to kill his son, an angel called out, “Do not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him, Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.” (v 12)

If you read through Chapter 22, you’ll notice that in verse 6, Abraham tells the servants, “We will worship and then WE will come back to you.” He doesn’t say “I” will be back, but we. Abraham doesn’t just demonstrate, but he reveals the depth of his faith. He believes God will provide the sacrifice. It is a profound trust in God.

I’m not suggesting that you should take your teenager up to the cross on Battle Mountain and prepare to sacrifice him or her. Although on some days, that may sound like a good idea! (Just kidding!)

I am suggesting that you wrestle with the questions, “What does God want from me? What is He asking me to sacrifice for Him?” Is it a job change with a cut in pay? A move?

I still remember one of those moments in our lives. It was very clear that God was telling us to sell everything we had, pack up a 26’ U-haul, and move across the country. It meant uprooting our 5 and 3 year old children from everything familiar and living with family friends until we could find jobs and start over. We took the risk, and it eventually led to San Diego and The Church at RB. I can’t imagine how our life would’ve turned out if we would’ve said no!

But there is another kind of risk I’m asking you to consider: a deepening of your spiritual life. Look back at verse 6. It says “We will worship.” It’s more than just singing, but a way of living. It may mean getting up an hour earlier to open the Bible and pray or joining a Table Group to be in community and grow in understanding of God’s Word. Maybe it is asking someone older than you to mentor you, or telling a younger person you believe God is calling you to mentor them.

Obedience requires sacrifice and the result is an unexplainable abundant joy and peace!

Let’s not just swim into this year, but jump into the deep end of obedience and see what God does! I can’t wait!

Pastor Pam

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