"The Lord Will Provide" - Genesis 22:1-14 - June 26, 2005

This story is difficult for us to comprehend since it appears to put Abraham’s son, Isaac, in grave danger. Since God could have intervened at any point along the way I don’t believe that God ever intended that any harm would come to Isaac. What Abraham demonstrated in this story is a complete surrender of the will. Abraham proceeded as instructed, without hesitation, without complaining, without debate. Abraham accepted the challenge, and ultimately passed his test.

One wonders why Abraham would permit himself to be tested in this way. To always know how or why God acts is a mystery. Therefore we have to focus on what we know. It never occurred to Abraham that God would not provide for him. Abraham proceeded with the test because he trusted in God completely. Notice that Abraham responded to God by saying, "here I am." He was ready and willing as he responded to the call.

For Abraham, there were no excuses. There is no other agenda. God called, Abraham responded. He prepared himself for the journey and proceeded. He didn’t look at his appointment book or ask his family if they had plans. He didn’t have to think it over or sleep on it. He didn’t say, "I’ll get back to you." He didn’t say, "You know I’d really like to, but…" What God wanted was Abraham’s absolute commitment and unqualified faith and Abraham came through with flying colors.

Notice also that when Isaac questioned his father about the lamb, Abraham told him (verse 8) that "God would provide the lamb for the burnt offering." Abraham had complete faith in God that whatever resources were necessary for the mission would be available. There was no reason to worry since God would provide for all his needs.

I believe this story speaks to those who worry. The theme of the story is the fact that God provides. When we worry we are focused on what we might lose, in this case Abraham losing his son. When we worry we are not free. We are imprisoned by what might happen, potential suffering, or personal loss. In that case faith has taken a back seat to worry. When we are anxious, God is not in the picture and our faith is weak.

In 1987, Eamon Coughlan ran a qualifying heat at the World Indoor Track Championships in Indianapolis. The Irishmen was the reigning world record holder at 1500 meters and he was favored to win the race easily. Unfortunately, with two and a half laps to go, he tripped and fell. Eventually he caught up to the rest of the field. With only twenty yards to go he was in third, good enough to qualify.

For some reason, just before he reached the finish line, Coughlan looked over his shoulder to the inside. Seeing no one in sight he relaxed a bit and slowed down. He didn’t notice there was a runner on the outside charging hard. The runner passed Coughlan just as he reached the finish line and Coughlan was eliminated from the finals.

Coughlan’s great comeback effort was worthless because he momentarily took his eyes off the finish line and worried about the competition behind him. Had he kept looking ahead, focusing on the goal line he would have qualified for the race and most likely finished in first place.

To be consumed with "why" God tested Abraham in this story is to miss the point. Abraham believed that God would provide and provide God did. First he tells his son, Issac, that God would provide a lamb for the burnt offering. In other words Issac had nothing to worry about. And after God had intervened and told Abraham not to slay his son, Abraham called the name of the place, "The Lord will provide."

The Lord will provide. Sounds simple enough, but do we believe it?

One time there were identical twins, one a hope-filled optimist and the other a worrier. The parents of the twins took them to a psychologist in hope that they could bring some balance to their two sons.

The psychologist suggested that on the next twin’s birthday, the parents put them in separate rooms to open their gifts. He told them to give the worrier the best toys they could afford and to give the optimist a box of manure. The parents decided to give it a try.

When their birthday came the parents peeked into the room of the worrier and heard him complaining loudly, "I’ll bet this toy will break. I don’t like this game. There are too many pieces to this toy and some will get lost." Meanwhile, the optimist was in his room laughing. They heard him say, "You can’t fool me. With all this manure there has to be a pony somewhere."

Those who believe the Lord will provide are optimists. They are the ones who don’t worry about what might happen but trust in God to give them what they need.

Are we up to such a test? I believe that most of us are creatures of habit and strive to be comfortable with the status quo. We don’t like it when we are asked to do things "outside the box." We don’t want to be different. We don’t want to be known as people who do crazy things. We don’t like risks and we don’t like to lose. We would rather know what’s on the exam in advance or "cheat" our way through life.

Soon it will be the Fourth of July. I seem to remember that some very insane revolutionaries decided to take on Mother England and fight for independence. They were greatly outnumbered, lacked training and resources and their government was fragile and unorganized. Yet, they prevailed. They passed the test because they were committed and had faith that what they were fighting for was right.

We all have dreams, beliefs and goals that are never reached because we fail to live up to the test. God wants us to have faith and support that faith with commitment. God wants us to trust that God will provide for us in the future just as God has provided for us in the past.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio