Morning Devotional
May 23, 2005
"Losing and Gaining" 
    by Don Emmitte

Later on God tested Abraham's faith and obedience. "Abraham!" God called. "Yes," he replied. "Here I am." "Take your son, your only son--yes, Isaac, whom you love so much--and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will point out to you." The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son Isaac. Then he chopped wood to build a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place where God had told him to go. On the third day of the journey, Abraham saw the place in the distance. “Stay here with the donkey," Abraham told the young men. "The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back." (Genesis 22:1-5 NLT).

 

I am always taken by the story of Abraham and Sarah, recorded in the book of Genesis. They had waited a lifetime for a son, and then God asked of Abraham the ultimate: to offer a sacrifice -- and not just any sacrifice would do -- it was to be their son Isaac! Was this some sort of cruel joke? How could God? What right had He to give, only to take back? There are times when circumstances and situations demand that we "give up" something with which God has blessed our lives. How are we at surrendering our prized possessions?

 

I have to admit that "giving up" has been commonplace in my personal pilgrimage. Yet even after lots of practice, "giving up" is not something that comes easily. When we moved from Texas to North Carolina, our 14-year-old dog became very ill. There was no hope of her recovery. Our only humane choice was to euthanize her. That was one of the hardest things to do in my recent memory. Even now, I miss having her come running when I get home. There have been other things I have “given up.”

 

My health is one of those. It seemed that overnight freedom of movement was something I could only dream about or reflect on. Everyone can see the changes in the external, but few know the internal battles that rage at times as I struggle to make everything flex. I've learned that life can demand most of the things that matter to us: loved ones die, relationships grow cold, and health fails. I've learned too that there is one thing that life cannot take -- our faith. An old spiritual says, "The world didn't give it to me and the world can't take it away." Now I'm not naive; I know there are times and circumstances that really shake our faith, and tempt us to abandon the God we serve.

 

Sometimes when I'm going through tough times people will ask, "How can you believe in God?" My response is always the same. In tough times we either run from God or we run to Him. Over the course of my life, I've learned that to run from God is futile, but He is faithful to see us through. His grace is sufficient for every loss I've sustained. I've learned that when life takes what matters, we need to do the best with what we have left. Yes, even Christians need to mourn our losses, and maybe, for a time, mourn what might have been -- but we must not get stuck there.