God was faithful to Abraham and through this relationship, obedience was continually being renewed. God’s faithfulness was a catalyst for Abraham’s faith. But like James writes, faith must be proven. It is not found in empty words but in conscious actions. Faith lives in trials. If faith is a deep-sea creature, trials must be the vast ocean depths. It is there we learn to patiently endure, breathing underwater and trusting the One who has been with us our entire journey.
Abraham experienced this firsthand. He may have felt abandoned at sea, left to the confusion and turmoil of his mind. Sacrifice my son? How does this make any sense?
But God was bringing Abraham into the fold. Consider, once again, what it took for Abraham to become closer than any human being had ever been to God’s heart.
It took a trial.
It is not a coincidence that when James pens his book about faith without works being dead, he also writes about the joy that comes from trials. These two themes are inseparable in Scripture, yet, these painful struggles seem to always catch us off guard.
Genesis 22 beautifully captures God’s divine intervention when we choose to obey. Abraham didn’t have to follow through. He could have chosen to reject God’s invitation. In the end, his faith prevailed and he was able to experience the blessing of a deeper relationship with God. Isn’t that what all of us want in the end?