I vividly remember once, in college, when I went to a retreat and a woman named Irena talked about "laying her Isaac down" - an idol in her life that she longed for so hard and wanted so much that it had displaced God as first in her life.
Genesis 22
Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”
6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”
8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram[a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.”
15 The angel of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring[b] all nations on earth will be blessed,[c] because you have obeyed me.”
I have thought about that woman, and her testimony a million times since that night because I often have things that creep up and turn into idols, or Isaacs, in my life. I remembered her again today because I realize that its time to lay another Isaac down.
Lord, help me to love you and trust you enough to let it go. I know if it's your will, you can bring it to pass in your perfect way and time and if its not your will, help me to realize whatever you plan for me is better. Help me to trust that you are and you always will be enough. Give me strength to keep holding on to you when it feels like you're all I have because the truth is you're all I need. Thank you for your love and your patience. Please hold my heart. As I open my hands and let go of everything I have held on to so tightly, please take my hands and give me comfort. Restore my hope in you and you alone. Forgive me for ever putting any thing, any person, any desire ahead of you, Lord. Thank you that you will never leave me or forsake me.
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