Trust is such a sweet place to be but a hard destination to reach. Daily I struggle with trust- trusting others, trusting myself and even trusting God at times. One of the most impactful examples God lays on my heart when I wrestle with trust is that of Abraham in Genesis 22. God speaks to Abraham and tells him to sacrifice his only son to God as a test of his faith. Abraham gets up early the next morning, in prompt obedience to God's command, and travels to the mountain to sacrifice his son Isaac. Before he leaves for Mount Moriah, he tells his servants that he and his son will be back after the sacrifice is made. When Abraham reaches that pivotal moment where he raises his knife to slay his son on the alter, God sees Abraham's faith and love for the Lord and provides a ram in place of Isaac.
What amazes me about this story is that Abraham trusts God without limits. Before he leaves, he tells his servants that both he and his son will return, completely confident that God will provide. And when Isaac asks his father where the lamb is for the burnt offering, Abraham confidently answers again, "God himself will provide a lamb for the burnt offering, my son." Abraham has one son whom he loves dearly. For years, Abraham and Sarah struggled to have this son. And just when they think they have everything worked out, God asks them to give him up. That's how much Abraham loves God- to sacrifice even his only son for him. And that's how much Abraham trusts God- to know that God would provide a perfect offering in place of his son.
God saw the faith of Abraham and was pleased. God delights when we obey Him out of a place of love and adoration for Him. And seeing this faith of Abraham's, God provided a more perfect sacrifice in place of Isaac. God saw. God provided.
True trust is this: to jump off into the great unknown and fully expect that God will provide His living waters to catch you in the fall. Taking the jump is scary. The fall is even scarier. But the sweetest moment is when we are encompassed in His living, thriving waters that fill us with life. We may not know what the leap of faith may look like for us, but we can know that God has already provided a safe place for us when we step out of our comfort zone and into the great unknown where our faith truly comes to life. And the wonderful thing is, He has already provided the living water into which will we fall. We don't have to manufacture a safety net on our own to catch us. Every human effort to provide for ourselves on our own smalls in comparison to the all-sufficient provision of the cross. Jesus Himself laid down his life in place of ours as the perfect sacrifice, and when we say yes to the adventure of new life with Him, He provides his living water to catch us in our leap of faith.
God still sees. God still provides. And newer, richer depths await us when we step out of ourselves and into the adventure of trust.
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