How Can I Say No?

Then God said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” Genesis 22:2

When faced with such a situation, the challenge is not how can I say Yes, but how can I say No to the Lord. How can Abraham say No to the Lord, after hearing the Lord’s voice for 25 years during the waiting period for His son Isaac, where the Lord’s voice was guiding, encouraging and strengthening him to survive the waiting period? During the waiting period, the Lord might have spoken at least ten times, giving him strength and hope for the future. The Lord (through his promises and visitations) nourished, sustained, and strengthened him during the 25-year wait for fulfilment of the promise.

The God who sustained him during the waiting period, is the same God who asked him for the sacrifice. If the Lord had not spoken to him in the 25 years of waiting period, he would have been depressed and worn out. Wilderness and waiting period without hearing God’s voice regularly, would make people depressed and worn out.

Since the Lord, who strengthened him, asked for the sacrifice, there was never a NO. If the Lord did not strengthen him to sustain the waiting period, he would have lost his promise. The waiting period was the time period where Abraham developed a deeper relationship with God. Quick obedience was the reflection of Abraham’s relationship with God. Love might be the central theme of the relationship with God, but Abraham displayed His love through quick obedience to the Lord’s voice.

May be if Abraham had shared what the Lord spoke to him with others, they would have told him that he had heard a wrong voice. How can a person who has endured 25 years of waiting by hearing God's voice doubt that it is the Lord's voice? Abraham was so much tuned to the Lord. In between his family fights, he heard the Lord’s voice clearly. To a person who hears the Lord's voice clearly, he can easily discern whether it is the Lord's voice or not.

The wilderness or waiting phase is where we will be in tune with the Lord. Even if there are no external miracles, spiritual life will flourish in the wilderness. Our spiritual senses, such as the ability to discern the Lord's voice, will be sharpened in the wilderness or waiting period. A person whose discerning ability (to the Lord's voice) has been sharpened in the wilderness, can discern the Lord’s voice clearly in any situation.

When Abraham heard the Lord’s voice – he immediately discerned it’s the Lord’s voice and obeyed it in quick obedience without asking any questions. Abraham valued his relationship with God more than his love for his son. It was shown in his willingness to sacrifice his son.

25 years of waiting brought him closer to God, overshadowing his love for his son. When God asked Abraham, it was never a No but was always yes. His life was so tuned with God. If we were in the same situation, we would need to first discern whether it’s the Lord's voice or not, and then decide to obey him. Our lives are not big because of the prayers or miracles (that God performs through us), but because of our quick obedience to God and ability to recognise the Lord's voice.

We say we love God, but do we demonstrate external love for God via obedience and the fruits of the Spirit? Abraham's relationship with God produced quick obedience without asking any questions. Obeying God even if it means losing his prized possession. For Abraham it was always yes. How are we? How do you respond when God asks something that is your prized possession? Does our response depend on what the Lord asks? Are we quick to obey God?