Heart Sacrifices

In my continuation of reading last night, I was slammed with some realities of who God truly is and who is truly is NOT!!  In the book, "When I Lay my Isaac Down", the author talks about what our "Isaacs" are, where they come from, how they can be thrusted upon us unexpectedly, or how they can be heart sacrifices.  "Isaacs" that are thrusted upon us are things like death, disease, the loss of a job, things that seem to be thrown at us without any warning; things that are unexpected and, for lack of a better word, a total surprise.  The other kind of "Isaac" is referred to as a heart sacrifice; surrendering something for the sake of something else. 

         "True heart sacrifices involve identifying something precious to us (our Isaac), letting go of our control over the situation, event, or the person as act of worship (or obedience), embracing God's love in the process of the release, and resting in the outcome, even if in this lifetime we are not allowed to understand the reason behind the need for the sacrifice and the pain involved...It is a decision that is intrinsically tied to the personal relationship between us and our God.  It is born out of a trust that is developed in spending time communicating with an Abba Father who loves us more than we love our Isaac.  The high value of our Isaac is what makes the sacrifice so demanding, because we don't know ahead of time if we'll get our Isaac back." (Carol Kent)

For those of us who hate to give up control of anything, especially something we deem as "Isaac-worthy", this can be the hardest part.  The thing about heart sacrifices is that God will never MAKE up give our Isaac.  He never forces us to make heart sacrifices.  It is an act of obedience, or rather worship, meaning that we get to CHOOSE whether or not we are going to continue to hold on to our "Isaac", or trust God and let it go.  Many times, as in my own life, you come to these realizations when your "Isaac" becomes bigger than you.  When all avenues have been exhausted, and there is nothing left, it is then that God may be telling you to "lay your Isaac down." 

Abraham understood all too well about heart sacrifice.  He had been test by God many times throughout his life, and had failed many of the faith-tests God had given him.  However, through failing, learning, and continuing to trust in his God, Abraham became a true testiment of what faith really is.  When God told Abraham to murder his own son as a sacrifice to Him, Abraham obeyed.  To you and me, this seems crazy, horrible, unimaginable, and totally un-Godlike.  However, Abraham knew that obeying God, sacrificing his own son Isaac, would be an act of worship; trusting in his Heavenly Father's love for him and his son.  

God may not be asking you to sacrifice your own child, but He may be asking you to give up something very precious to you.  Whatever your "Isaac" may be, please remember this:

                                     God loves YOU more than you love yourself, AND God loves your ISAAC more than you love your Isaac.

 

I am learning to trust God in a way that I've never trusted Him before.  I'm learning every single day what true faith really is.  It's easy as a Christian to say that you have faith in God as long as your life is going smoothly.  True faith requires trust when you can see no tomorrow; when the storm is raging and the light of day seems gone forever.  When God asks you to "lay your Isaac down", you find out just how trusting and faithful you truly are, or aren't.  And let me tell you, I've also learned a few lessons in pride and humbleness. 

 

God doesn't give us all the answers.  Yes, it's ok to pray for wisdom, but don't ever expect for God to hand over his all-knowing wisdom to you.  It will never happen.  Sometimes our questions of why and how will remain just that...questions.  If God revealed to us everything He knows and understands, then why would we need to trust him.  If we as people could rationalize every single situation in our lives and make sense of it all, then there would be no need to trust or have faith.  Sometimes God puts the blindfold over our eyes and simply says, "Let go, take my hand, and trust me...I love you more than anyone."

 

Heart sacrifices are hard, sometimes the hardest thing ever, because we have to do it willingly with no one making us.  The pain is real, the loss of control is a punch in the gut, but the love you receieve in return is more real than any other love you have ever known.  I have always known that God loves me, but I can honestly say that I have never felt him wrap His arms around me more tightly than he has since I layed my Isaac down.  There are days I can actually feel him carrying me.  I have found a trust in Him that I've never known.  I've found out what blind faith is...trusting without having one tiny glimpse of what is to come.  I know that I am not through learning.  I know that I am not through being tested.  But one thing I do know and believing more every single day is this:

 

No one loves ME or my ISAAC more than God does.

 

My trust in Him rests in that.  

Prologue Reflection

In the Prologue of "When I Lay my Isaac Down", I read quite a few things that stuck with me.  I wanted to share them in hopes that someone might need to hear them as much as I did.

"There are some tragedies that are too big for a heart to hold, and they defy any desciption that makes sense.  Time weaves its way through the shock, the hurt, and the inexpressible feelings, and one day you discover that in the process of daily survival, you have instinctively made decisions (good and bad), defined your theology, formed an opinion about god, and determined that you will either durl up and die emotionally or you will choose life. 
  The terrifying but thruthful fact is that, in choosing life, you realize it will never match the kind of life that was in yoru carefully thought-out plan for your future.  It will force you to view the people around you differently.  the brokenness will challenge you to new levels of personal compassion.  It will melt your pride, diminish the importance of your carefully designed agenda, and it has the potential to develop an unshakable faith that defies rationality..........There are times in life when all of us are called upton to make heart sacrifices.  some of those sacrifices are things we choose because of a cause we believe in or a desired end that makes our decision worthwhile.  However, most us will face an "Isaac experience," when a crisis is thrust into our lives without warning and without survial instructions.  Our "Isaacs" are the heart sacrifices we make when we choose to relinquish control and honor God with our choices even when all seems lost.  We have to decide if we will let go of our control over a person, situation, or event, or if we hang on for dear life and refuse to relinquish something we cherish...When God seems the most absent, He is the most present.  He is in the middle of your circumstances whether or not you have recognized Him." (Carol Kent)

As I read these things, and that wasn't all the prologue said, I began to realize that we all, at one point or another in life experience our "Isaac".  Many of us will experience more than one "Isaac", but the number doesn't matter.  What matters is that regardless of what your "Isaac" was, is, or will be one thing remains the same.  God knows your pain, your inability to understand or make sense of any it, our embarrassment, your anger, your frustration, your sadness, the list could go on and on with emotions you might be feeling, or have felt.  But God knows, and as far away as he might seem, he promises us that he will never leave us.  Our pain is His pain, our tears are His tears.  But just like the song says, Then came the morning...I know that my morning will one day come, and so will yours.  And anyone who has ever dealt with an "Isaac" in their own life will tell you the same thing if they are follower of Jesus Christ.   The darkness of the night may seem long and endless, but I am choosing to put my faith in the One who created me, that the darkness will end...not in my time but in His perfect timing.  I don't always like His timing, but I am learning every day that His timing is always RIGHT on time. 

Welcome!!

 

 

"Circumstances may appear to wreck our lives and God's plans, but God is not helpless among the ruins." -Eric Liddell

 

 

This book was given to me by my mother.  At one point in her life she purchased it for herself because of a circumstance she was going through in her own life.  Now that I am taking my own journey through my own life circumstance, I am so glad that she decided to share this book with me.  I pray that this blog will not only help me through my own journey, but might also help someone else who is going through something in their own life that they never planned on happening.  Please feel free to share your thoughts and feelings as you read this blog.  I have learned that God can use many avenues to speak to his children.  I know God has many more things to show me and teach me as I take this new journey in life.