Genesis 22:12
And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
KJV
I find this verse to be something of high interest to me. God knows all things, can do all things and is all things. Sometimes we wonder or ask…
“Why will God not use me in this area?”
“Why will God not talk to me like He did to the prophets of old?”
The enemy loves for us to feel alone or deserted when we ponder these questions to ourselves. But always remind yourself of who you are to God. God knows what He has called us to do and the purpose He has created each one of us for, before the foundation of the world. He knows you. He knows His thoughts toward you and what He is going to do through you. We get excited about this and think…
“Yes Lord! I’m ready! Put it on me!”
What we don’t want to hear though is about all the stuff in between the “now” and the “then” that we are going to have to go through to be prepared for what He called us to do. We confuse this “preparation time” as being abandoned by God sometimes.
See, God loved us as much as possible before the beginning even was. But He has to develop our intimacy with Him. We develop our intimacy, and ultimately our credibility, with God through spending time with Him in prayer, reading the word and studying the word (yes there is a difference), fasting (do you do this?), worship, actions, mentality, words…
How is your credibility with God? God will never give someone more then they can manage. He will never give you something just because you ask for it- but only what you can handle. It’s time to take assessment of your standing with Him.
[Scenario]
You have 3 maxed out credit cards, drive a car way outside of your pay scale, rent an apartment you cannot afford, eat out everyday and night, buy unnecessary amounts of clothing (I know it hurts), live beyond your means… and you’re asking God to bless you financially? A bank will not even give you a loan, which they love to do, and you think God will?
I hate to break it to you, but it’s not going to happen. If God blessed you without you changing your ways He would be violating His word; And God never violates His word. I will point again to the parable of the talents. They were all given a certain number of talents, according to their ability. Two did wisely, but one mismanaged. When the owner returned He took away even the 1 talent the servant had, called him wicked and cast him out. Did you hear that?!? He called him “wicked”! Mismanagement is wicked!
Anything God gives us, He expects us to add value to it. I pray the Holy Spirit will open your understanding of this. The Lord is the Owner… OF EVERYTHING! From the earth we live in, the shoes we’re wearing to the blood pumping through our body- He owns it all. So if we don’t own it, we can only manage it.
He expects us to add value to what He has given us to manage. If you take your paycheck and blow it every week, you’re not adding value to it, but are consuming it. This is not only things of monetary value, but even your body. If you take in all those fast food restaurants every single day, you are destroying your heart and internal organs. Remember, anything you mismanage you lose…
Assess your life- what are you doing with what God has given you? He will not give you more to mismanage if you have consumed what He entrusted to you in the first place. God will even give the riches unto the wicked if the righteous cannot manage it. (Proverbs 13:22)
Call order to your life. Add value to what God has given you, and you will see God open up more to you. Look again at Abraham and Isaac.
Genesis 22:12
And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
KJV
Did God not know? Of course He did. But Abraham had to know. He couldn’t lead with confidence and follow in faith if he had any doubts. He was being developed all the way up the mountain. Can you imagine the war going on in his mind? But his faith was sealed, his relationship with God grew, and his credibility with God was increased.
Where are you?
