FAITH CAPSULE: Abraham engaged sacrifice with responsible steadfastness all his journey in life.

Genesis 22

Claiming God’s promise demands responsibility that is rooted in steadfastness. Without doubt, sacrifice before God is to be responsibly steadfast. Sacrifice is to surrender something of value as a means of gaining something more desirable. Sacrifice can be inconvenient when giving self to God’s promise which is certain to perform perfection. Sacrifice before God is to claim in the promise of God.
God promised Abraham in Genesis 12:2-3, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” Behind the promise of God for Abraham, the sacrificial condition was enormous and painful to engage when God commanded him, “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house.” (Genesis 12:1) Often, believers claim Abraham’s blessing, but many believers are unable to engage Abraham’s kind of sacrifice to claim or receive Abraham’s kind of blessings. Abraham continued in the journey to God’s blessing for his life because he engaged sacrifice with responsible steadfastness. Abraham’s journey started when he was commanded by God through all his life. Abraham was sacrificially steadfast.
Moses, as a vessel of God, spoke the promise of God to the Israelites, “Therefore you shall keep every commandment which I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and possess the land which you cross over to possess.” (Deuteronomy 11:8) God promised but the Israelites could not possess because they could not invest a required responsible steadfastness as their sacrifice. If they had kept the commandments of God, it would have given them the strength needed to possess their possessions.
David stated God’s message to Solomon, “Now He said to me, ‘It is your son Solomon who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father. Moreover, I will establish his kingdom forever, if he is steadfast to observe My commandments and My judgments, as it is this day.” (1Chronicles 28:6-7) This is a beautiful and blessed promise of God but for Solomon to receive this promise from God, He had to continually be steadfast in following God’s commands. Any sacrificial engagement that lacks steadfastness will cut short the blessing promised by God.
In life, there is no possession without sacrifice. In other words, behind every gained possession, there is a reasonable sacrifice to be given. Sacrifice might happen in different ways, but it is necessary to receive your rightful possession. Sacrifice before God can be painful but with responsible steadfastness it is certain to be gainful. Sacrifice is certain to be costly and can be in different forms. Obeying God’s word is a sacrifice because it takes man out of self/world’s plan and places man into Gods plans.

Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to be responsible steadfastly in sacrificing before God.