My Isaac

During my pink and white days of college, our meetings always began with a devotion. Scratch that...they always began by reciting the creed, calling roll, an occasional visit from a Phi guy and then a devotion. We had our priorities in order. Throughout the years though there has been one devotion in particular that has always stuck out in my mind. Now I don't know what year of college it was or even who the chaplain was who shared it so maybe it wasn't at a Tuesday night meeting at all. Maybe it was at a BSU meeting on Monday night before Monday night karaoke (again, priorities...I've always had them aligned. Sure.) Regardless I have remembered that it was a poem about Abraham and Isaac. Recently, I have been studying the story of Abraham in Genesis, and I thought of the poem. Google redeemed itself from the whole "economy" debacle of earlier this week by producing just what I was looking for. It is a poem written by Beth Moore and here it is for your own reading pleasure:

For every Abraham who dares
to kiss a foreign field
where glory for a moment grasped
Is for a lifetime tilled…

The voice of God
speaks not but once
but ‘til traveler hears
“Abraham! Abraham! Bring your Isaac here!”

“Bring not the blemished sacrifice.
What lovest thou the most?
Look not into the distance,
you’ll find your Isaac close.”

“I hear the tearing of your heart
torn between two loves,
the one your vision can behold
the Other hid above.”

“Do you trust me, Abraham
with your gravest fear?
Will you pry your fingers loose
and bring your Isaac here?”

“Have I not made you promises?
Hold them tight instead!
I am the Lover of your soul—
the Lifter of your head.”

“Believe me, O my Abraham
when blinded by the cost.
Arrange the wooded altar
and count your gains but loss.”

“Let tears wash clean your blinded eyes
until unveiled you see—
the ram caught in the thicket there
to set your Isaac free.”

“Perhaps I’ll send him down the mount
to walk right by your side.
No longer in your iron grasp
but safer still in mine.”

“Or I may wrap him in the wind
and sweep him from your sight
to better things beyond your reach—
believe with all your might!”

“Look up, beloved Abraham.
Can you count the stars?
Multitudes will stand to reap
from one dear friend of God.”

“Pass the test, my faithful one;
bow to me as Lord.
Trust me with your Isaac—
see, I am your great Reward.”

There is so much to the story that I have a hard time even beginning to sort out my thoughts. I love how the seemingly impossible is made possible in this story. I mean, Abraham and Sarah were old and they had a baby after spending years with no children. Fortunately for Sarah she didn't have a 19 year-old daughter to exclaim "but mom you're so old" when the news broke. (I once heard about a 19 year-old who said those words to her mother upon hearing the news that she was going to be a big sister for the second time. None of you know her though.) I love how God still makes the impossible possible thousands of years later.

And then there's the other part of the story. The part in which Abraham's faith was tested by showing his willingness to sacrifice his son, Isaac. The very son he loved and had waited on for so long. Where is the fairness in that? God provides Abraham with a son yet He commands Abraham to take him to Moriah and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. Seriously? Yes - seriously. If you don't know the story, I would encourage you to keep reading to see how this works out.

It's in this part of the story that I really start thinking about my life. There have been times when I did not trust God enough to let go of "my Isaac". And these things were nothing in comparison to a child. I don't even have babies yet and it hurts my heart to even consider such a thing. So now I'm praying that the next time there is something that I need to trust God with, I do it. Willingly. Even if it means that I have to let go of a plan or an idea or a routine. This will be no easy task for a girl like me who loves a good plan almost as much as I love a good pair of shoes or a Sunday afternoon nap. But then I remember that once upon a time there was a father who did sacrifice his son whom he loves very much. For me. Because he loves me very much too. So if he did all this so that I might have life then the least I can do is trust him with it.