8 It was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where he was going. 9 And even when he reached the land God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited the same promise. 10 Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God.
11 It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. 12 And so a whole nation came from this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.
13 All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth. 14 Obviously people who say such things are looking forward to a country they can call their own. 15 If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. 16 But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17 It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18 even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” 19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.
Hebrews 11:8-19
Dear God, I’m probably going to say something heretical here, but I don’t agree with all of the conclusions the author of Hebrews draws in this passage. First, my favorite part is the first part of verse 13: “All these people died still believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it.” And I suppose there’s no point in going into the parts I disagree with…well, maybe just a little. I simply disagree with verse 19, that “Abraham reasoned if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again.” When I read that story and spend time with it, and when I put myself in Abraham’s place, and when I ask myself why you gave him that particular test in the first place, I think that Abraham had likely made an idol out of the promise, and you were using this as an opportunity to him to not only sacrifice Isaac, but sacrifice the promise. I imagine that there was a lot of repenting going on during the journey to the mountain where Isaac was to be sacrificed. I think Abraham was probably a pretty broken and repentant man by the time they reached the place and he drew the knife to kill his son and his promise.
Okay, now that I have that off of my chest, let me go back to my favorite part. They didn’t live to see the promise on this side of death. Your reality is not our reality. Our reality is not nearly as important as we think it is. My life is not nearly as important as I think it is. I’m sorry, that’s not exactly what I meant. My comfort, fulfillment, power, and influence are not nearly as important as I think they are. In fact, while my life is important for your service, my comfort, fulfillment, power, and influence are immaterial. My standing in the community. The pride I take in my children. The pride I take in my marriage. My job. All of it is worthless and eligible for the sacrificial altar. When I start to make any of it my idol I am limiting what you can do through me because I am limiting myself.
Father, give me more faith than I have. I have a friend right now who thinks we can impact immigration policy in this country from the bottom up. I have no faith for that. Should I? There are so many things in my personal life that seem hopeless. Are they? Or is it that I just need to remain faithful and wait on your timing, whether it happens during my short life or after, for your plan to be fulfilled. Most of the time, I do have faith that you are doing what needs to be done but I just can’t see it–and I might never see it. Ninety-five percent of the time, I believe it. But those 5% moments break my heart and bring me to tears. I feel sorry for myself. I hurt because I’m not getting exactly what I want. So help me to live with the faith that Abraham had that he had this promise, but he really only lived to see a small, small part of it fulfilled. I might not even get to see as much as he saw, but I know that I am grateful to be able to sit here with you now, love you, worship you, and trust in you.
I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,
Amen
Emails to God 