“Lay down the knife; don’t hurt the lad in any way,” the Angel said, “for I know that God is first in your life—you have not withheld even your beloved son from me”- Genesis 22:12 TLB.
Tests come to prove and prune us. Anyone can say they love, believe or obey God, but until they’re tested. Untested love, faith or obedience is unreliable, and it’s nothing more than a claim. God gives real and permanent blessings and inheritance to His children after proving and purifying their affection for Him. Contrary to popular charismatic belief and claims of grace, God does not dole out authority, power and supernatural gifts indiscriminately. If He did this would put a serious dent and a big question mark on His wisdom and integrity. Besides, He’s a responsible Father.
Abraham knew love, grace and faith. Importantly, he also knew that the thread that runs through and connects them is obedience: doing what God says. Now having known this he became a friend of God forever. The Lord simply tests our obedience to His word, whether we’ll do and stand by it or not. Nothing happens in the kingdom without the word, because it’s the word of His power. He upholds all things by His word. God tests our obedience of His word, and satan brings us under trial for the word’s sake.
Satan knows that in the kingdom of God everything begins and operates with the word. Nothing pleases God more than believing and doing His word. The Lord Jesus said to His disciples that they were clean because of the word He spoke to them, and asked the Father to sanctify them by His word. Oh, that the Lord would open our hearts to see what an affirmative response to His word does for us in the spirit. The only thing that Jesus gave His disciples was the word of God, and everything else followed! The word of God in our lives is always on trial.
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