Powershift Devotional
By Dayo Adeyemi
Real Men! Real Issues!
It’s about Isaac also, Sir. Not just about Abraham. Isaac came down from that mountain with a testimony no one else could tell. Not even his father, Abraham.
Sir, imagine this. You are Isaac, just a regular boy spending time with your dad. Then one morning, your father Abraham says, “Son, we are going up the mountain to worship.” You obediently carry the wood and followed him. Along the way, you asked what every boy would ask; “Dad, where is the lamb for sacrifice?” Your father calmly says, “God will provide.” Then, the next thing you know, he’s tying you up. Everything looks like one big strange joke. “Is daddy high on steroids”? You thought your father doesn’t meant it. He pulls out a real knife and raises it above your chest. “Ha! So my end has come so soon”?
If this happened today, let’s be honest, it would break the Internet. This is viral video online.
Now Imagine, Isaac getting home and telling the mother. “Mum, dad tied me up to offer me as a sacrifice to God today”.
\"What?\" Sarah would shriek?
\"Your father did what? Tied you up to kill you, my only son?
Did you say sacrifice? Sarah would scream;
“I never knew I married a murderer!”
“Which \'stupid\' God told him to kill you, MY SON!”
Sarah would drag Abraham to the elders’ council that day for a serious deliverance from demonic oppressions. If your wife is Sarah, my brother, how would she react to what Isaac just told her? Her only son shared the story of your attempted ‘murder’ of him in an attempt to obey God? Pause here. Would Madam give you a hug after hearing her son told her of your act of weird obedience? (Smiles)
Now picture Abraham’s neighbor’s hearing the same story from another neighbor. She would rush home, grab her boy and say,
“Listen to me, my son. If old man Abraham ever invites you for ‘worship,’ you run!
Do you hear me? Run! You run at the speed of Usain Bolt without looking back!” “I never knew the DNA of madness runs in Father Abraham lineage! for real?”
Fast forward to Isaac in his classroom sitting in the corner in his primary school, wide-eyed. Teacher leans down and asked;
“Isaac, how was your weekend?”
“Very Well, Teacher Mercy. My dad tied me up to sacrifice me, but an angel stopped him from slaughtering me.”
That teacher paused and swallowed, then quietly text the school counselor and dial the 911:
“We have an emergency situation here…One of the most respected PTA members attempted to kill his son over the weekend”
How about in Sunday school? The teacher asks,
“What did God do for you this weekend, Isaac?”
Isaac stands up, clears his throat and declares boldly, “My Dad tried to sacrifice me to God, but God sent an alternative instead.”
Every child in the class would stare. The teacher will pat Isaac on the head.
“Wao! good imagination, Isaac. How can? We all know how much your dad loves you, dropping you and picking you up from school daily. Isaac, tell us another moonlight story”
Sir, do not miss my point. Real trust is weird . Isaac shows us the power of surrender and the faith that runs in the families. Abraham demonstrated his faith in God. Isaac trust in his father. He could have bailed out on his legs. He is younger than Abram. An old man over ninety nine years old can\'t outrun the lad. The servants will possibly shield Isaac being part of the story of his birth. Abraham trusted God enough to lift the knife. Isaac trusted his father enough to lie still on the altar.
Men, when we say we are men of faith, but do our sons see it practically demonstrated? Or do they only hear us preach about it? When our sons see us obeying God, whether it costs or it stings, when it tests everything, they learn to trust God better in all situations. Abraham’s faith was real. He is a believer not a half leg in,half leg out in the faith. Isaac’s being tied with ropes was real. What a way to demonstrate unflinching faith by the father and the son. That is how legacies of faith are built. Is your wife very clear about your position on faith? Do you think she will agree for you to take your only one treasure and sacrifice to Christ Jesus?
Now that you are in the Lord, does your father know that you live a life of unquestionable obedience to God. Does your family members know your position on issues. I remember a particular occasion I was trusting God for a particular answer to prayers. it took so long. Someone in the know told my elder Sister. She told the person that I will never agree to anything fetish. I do not live a life that \'helps\' God to speed answers to my prayers.
Never.
How about you?
Maybe yours is not to sacrifice your only son. Maybe it is forgiving your father who failed you or your mother who \'abandoned\' you for another man. Maybe it is letting your son see you cry profusely when you are praying intensely. Maybe it is obeying God when your neighbors mock you. Maybe it is letting your son see you turn down a shady deal because you fear God more than man.
Isaac came down from that mountain with a story no one else could tell. He saw first-hand that God provides. Years later, that same trust shaped how he blessed Jacob and Esau. Generational faith has to be seen, felt, and sometimes tied up on an altar of raw obedience.
So, Sir, ask yourself. When your son tells his teacher, his wife, or his children what he saw in you, will he say, “My father taught me how to trust God when it made no sense”?
Or will he say, “My father only talked faith but privately he never walked the faith”?
Be like Abraham. Be like Isaac. Obedience to God brings so much rewards. Put your trust on the altar, lift the knife of obedience, and let your son, your whole family see you do it.
Bible Verse
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5 (NIV)
Call to Action
Live so boldly for God that your son sees faith is more than talk, no matter who thinks it is crazy.
Reflection
Where is God asking you to trust Him like Abraham and Isaac today?
Prayer
Lord, teach me to trust You fully and lead my son to trust You too, no matter how weird your request may look.
Amen.