Do Not Worry

Gen 22: 1 - 14; Rom 6: 12 - 23; Matt 10: 40 - 42

You must go through tests and trials as a Christian. If this happens, know that: 1) you are not the first person going through trials, 2) you are not the only person going through it today, 3) God is not far away from you. You must therefore not worry. (1Pe 4:12) Beloved, do not be astonished at the fiery trial which is to try you, as though a strange thing happened to you. Sometimes when we go through trials we cry, yes trials are painful so we cry. But even as we cry we must not worry. (Jas 1:2) My brothers, count it all joy when you fall into different kinds of temptations. Therefore we must be ready to go through trials.

Temptations by the Devil
There are two kinds of trials which those who love God go through. We go through temptations when the devil is the architect of the test we go through. Though God allows this, it is never His will for us to fail. God’s intention is to see how we are able to overcome sin. That is why in Romans 6:12 we are told not to allow sin to reign in our bodies. We must overcome sin so that even if we find ourselves in very sinful situations we not fall short.

The second reading talks about how we are slaves of sin when allow sin to rule us. The only way God can be sure that we are overcoming sin in our lives is to allow the devil to tempt us. That was what happens to Job. God took away Job’s protection just to see if Job’s righteousness is real or not. At the end of the tests that the devil took him through, Job proved that he is a slave to righteousness and not to sin.

Our bodies can easily be influenced by the devil who tries to use all the means available to him to make us fall back, or at least remain where we are. But if we have a spirit and a soul controlled by the Holy Spirit, the spirit will subdue the flesh and make it resist. In such temptations, we will not worry because we know we are controlled, not by the flesh, but by the Spirit.

Trials by God
Other times God Himself is the main architect of the tests we go through. His intention is to see whether we love him or not. He wants to know whether we are ready to follow Him truly. When God tests you, then you must know that he is about to lift you up. That is why when you are going through trials by God, you must not worry. The story of Abraham throws more light on trials. These are lessons we need to know and be aware of.

God will test you when he is about to release his full blessing.
The verse 1 of Gen 22 says “it happened after these things” that god tested Abraham. Abraham had gone through several difficulties of life. He left his father’s house and lands to go after God to a country he does not know. He was childless for all his life. His nephew who he brought up as his own child started fighting with him. Abraham let things go to make peace. God promised him a child that was not coming. He was old and his wife realized it was not possible for them to give birth. The wife advised him to do as all other men do: take a second wife (which was not wrong at that time) so that that second woman will give him a child. That came to pass but God says Abraham must send that child away. Abraham obliged. Then finally the promised child came. Abraham and the wife went through the trouble of looking after a child in old age. The child grew up and was about being ready to take over Abraham’s business so that old Abraham can have some pension.

Abraham could now look into the future with hope. Then all of a sudden, this same God, who is aware of how Abraham got this son and what this son means to him, asked him to go and sacrifice the only son to him. What a “wicked God”. That is what we humans will say. How can he be so wicked? This God does not deserve following. We will go back. That is what happens to us. If the church that prays for us to be blessed is saying we should bring the whole blessing, then let the church be. We are better off without the Church. Bur Abraham did not leave the church. He did not leave God. He did not worry. He knew his miracle is on the way.

God gives you time to obey him
When God is trying you, he will give you time to choose to obey or not to obey. He will not put pressure on you to do his will. God asked Abraham to go to and sacrifice his some on a mountain at Moriah. It took three days of walk from where Abraham was settled to the location. God allowed him the time to consider very well. The devil will not give you time to obey him. He puts pressure on you to sin. God want you to do what you must by your own will. If you want to obey God, your will and His will must be one. Abraham did not argue with God. He said yes.

God test you with the best things you have
Isaac is the best of Abraham’s possession. That boy was his soul. His whole being lived in him so much so that he would give everything he had to save him. He will sacrifice all his animals to save his son. Abraham was able to let Ishmael go because Ishmael did not mean much to him. But Isaac was more than his own life. He was ready to die for Isaac. But God did not want the cows, the bull, the rams, the goats and all that. God did not ask Abraham to sacrifice one of his servants. God did not ask Abraham to look for Ishmael and sacrifice him. God wanted Isaac. That was what happened to Jacob when he was to give up Benjamin. Benjamin was the best of Jacob at the time.

That tells you that when God is asking for your best, he is about to bless you beyond measure. Don’t worry about losing your best for the sake of God. When you give anything to God you get a reward for it. That is why Matt 10: 40 – 42 is saying that when you lose anything for the sake of a prophet, you will get a prophet’s reward.

God’s tests are stressful
Let us not assume that tests are pleasant. Sometimes the way Bible narratives are makes people to take things lightly. Abraham went to a lot of trouble when trying to do this will of God. He first of all has to find a way of getting Isaac to the place. He must face the wife about the issue. I don’t believe he told the wife. The boy will hear it and run away. At the final moment, Isaac asked him where the lamb for the sacrifice was. He could not say the truth. He did not want to lie.
Abraham went through the pain of not only seeing his son die, he must be the killer. This he must do in solemn worship, ceremoniously. That is a very difficult thing. Which father will do that? Abraham went through the agony of seeing his own son plead to him for mercy.

God has a plan to be revealed at the end
God has a plan for you and he sets that plan in motion when you decide to obey. At the place of the sacrifice God caused a ram to be caught in a thicket as a replacement for Isaac. But this is revealed only after Abraham had fully offered his son on the altar. There is a replacement for whatever God decide to take from you in sacrifice. When you do something good to the Lord he makes sure he replaces whatever you lost in many folds. But your obedience must be complete first.
When we read verse 23 of Gen 22 we hear the name of Rebekah for the first time. God’s plan to extend the generations of Abraham was already in place. Your future is secure with God if you obey him. Obedience reveals the plan of God for your life.

At the end of the test here is what God said:
Gen 22: 15 – 18. The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time16 and said, "I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed because you have obeyed me."

One important lesson we learn from Abraham’s test is this: Be careful what you say when you go through trials. When Isaac asked Abraham where the Lamb for the sacrifice was, it was a difficult moment for him (Abraham). He could not tell his son he was the Lamb. He spoke out frustration, yet he spoke with faith. In moments of trial, let your faith rise up. Speak with faith trusting that God is capable of doing everything well. That is the only way you can assure victory.

Don’t worry