“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac. He received the promises and yet he was offering his one and only son, the one to whom it had been said, Your offspring will be traced through Isaac. He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead; therefore, he received him back, figuratively speaking.” Hebrews‬ ‭11:17-19‬ ‭CSB‬‬

There is so much that can be said about the faith of Abraham when he went to offer up Isaac – I preached about it (https://youtu.be/8d7ZC95pNqk). I would recommend taking the time to listen to the sermon as it will help you understand the importance of having faith like Abraham.

Today I want to focus on the aspect of being able to let something die to fulfil the will of God. Paul teaches us that we must die to self (Galatians 2:20); Jesus tells us to deny ourselves and forsake the things of the world (Luke 9:23 & Luke 14:33), and the most explicit teaching on dying to self, John 12:24-26. Please take a moment to read those scriptures and then sit on them and try to understand what they mean to you.

The walk with God requires you to let the things of the world die away so that your focus is on Him. We can see in Abraham offering Isaac to God that Abraham was declaring that obedience to God’s voice was more important than protecting his long-awaited promised son and more important than preserving the promise God had given him. He understood this vital point; it is not our job to protect our loved ones, it is not our responsibility to grow the promises of God, and it is not even our responsibility to ensure the promises happen. We have but one obligation to be obedient to him no matter what. To be fully obedient to Him, we must have faith in Him and know His character. Faithful obedience and knowledge of God will lead to you being able to let things die because you have realised that God can do more than you can even imagine, but you must be willing to let those hopes, dreams and ambitions die.

Today, take a moment with God and ask for an opportunity to be obedient to Him. Let Him train and grow your faith. It is through the moments of training that you can then pass the more significant trials of faith that will come as part of a walk with Him as your God.