The Lord has great plans for my life. Plans that are beautiful and prosperous. Beyond all I can imagine or even try to plan for myself.
I know this.
There are several promises the Lord has spoken to me about many areas of my life. My future partner, my calling in ministry, specific pieces that are not yet fulfilled but I hold on to.
There’s one particular promise I’ve been praying about and pressing into more lately.
I have questions.
I want to understand.
In September, I taught my rotation in our youth Sunday school class. We talked about bringing a sacrifice of praise and what that means.
They defined sacrifice as giving up something that has value to you for a specific purpose. We defined praise not only as a song we sing but the life we lead and every action that we purposefully choose to honor the Lord.
They recalled the story of Issac being taken as a sacrifice by his father, Abraham.
Shortly after, during a women’s conference at my church the Lord dropped the title of this post in my spirit. “You cannot love the promise more than me.”
Recently, I’ve been reflecting on that word and thinking about how Isaac was a promise fulfilled by the Lord. How he was promised to a couple who couldn’t have children and were advanced in age.
How when the Lord asked Abraham to take Isaac up on the mountain and sacrifice him, I would imagine it must have felt almost like a betrayal.
I would have had so many questions.
I may even have had what I refer to as a prayer time “hissy fit.”
“I prayed for him, for years. Father, you brought him to fruition as your promise…only to ask me to sacrifice him back to you. I don’t understand this.”
I can remember being told not to question the Lord. “His ways are higher than our ways…we should never question.”
For years, I felt guilty each time I had a moment of wanting to ask a question or express my desire to know why?” I felt like it made me less of a “good” Christian.
What I’ve learned is God isn’t threatened by my questions. He’s not upset with how my brain works. At the same time, I don’t get to demand an answer on my timeline, in my questioning. Sometimes the answer simply IS “no” or “not yet” and I don’t get to know more yet. I’ve learned to accept that.
I can’t tell you the number of times lately I’ve thought about how this season feels like waiting, feels like wilderness and then there’s been a word shared on social media that aligns to just that and reminds me God does work in the waiting, in the wilderness.
All of this to say – it’s okay to desire the promise, to want to reach that destination. We can’t lose sight of the promise keeper.
HE is working all things to our good according to his purpose.
HE has good plans.
HE loves us so completely.
HE desires relationship with each of us. True relationship.
When we chase the promise…we aren’t focused on the Father.
When our goal is to receive, we lose sight of the work there is to do (both the work he has to do in us and for us to do around us).
Abraham understood that. The promise he was given didn’t outweigh the end goal. Receiving the promise wasn’t the end. It was just another stop on the way to the destination.
He was willing to relinquish his promise in favor of the trusting the promise keeper (and found it was never actually about keeping his promise but instead trusting the Lord).
❤️
Just Between Me & Jesus 