here
“After these things, God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, ‘Here I am’.”
Genesis 22:1 ESV
Each day you can be here because I AM is there with you.
How has your heart posture been lately? No really, how has it been? If you have had anything like the season I’ve had, you would be the last person thinking about this question. You would be caught up in the day-to-day of life. Work, school, motherhood, singleness, friendship, social events, squeezing in your bit of fall fun before it gets bitter cold, and “BAM!” life hits you. Or maybe you are none of these, and you are just “fine”. Nothing to complain about, and life is going pretty swell for you.
In the past 2 months, I have had 3 major dental procedures- A root canal and 2 crowns. It’s safe to say my health was tested. If you know anything about these procedures, you have a tremendous amount of downtime. I caved into my thoughts. With major pain, waking up in the middle of the night crying, being unable to eat, and being scared to go to sleep, I was worried. I was anxious. “Can I really make it through this one?” And God gave me Psalm 91 to recite every night before bed. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” That was the only way I could sleep. God showed me that even if I don’t think I can make it through it, that’s good because HE will. He will carry me through. He will do the work. But there is one request He has of me, and that is to rest. What does rest show? Trust.
In this passage of scripture, The Lord requested Abraham to lay down His only Son Isaac after 25 years of waiting for him to be born. Abraham responds with a “Here, I am”. I don’t know about y’all, but I definitely would have wrestled with the Lord about that one. He would have gotten a “Maybe”. You gave me this precious gift, and now you want it back? Why, Lord? You gave me this job, and now you want me to let it go? You gave me this dream, and now I have to lay it down? Sacrifice it? But what Abraham modeled so beautifully is that He did trust the Lord. Even with Ishmael, he is listed in the heroes of the faith twice for separate occasions (Hb. 11: 8-10, 17-19). He saw enough of the Lord to know that He was good. He had tasted and seen (Ps. 34:8). Peter carried the same sentiment in John when Jesus asked if his disciples would leave him, “To whom will we go, Lord?” (Jn 6:68-69). Again, Abraham’s sole response was “Here, I am”.
Abraham knew that when all else fails, when I can’t figure it out or understand why or what God is doing “Here, I am”. Let that be our posture today. No, your situation may not have been as extreme as Abraham’s, but our Father cares about our days. Regardless of how busy, mundane, slow, exciting, or “blah” as they may be. Each day you can be here because I AM is there with you.
With peace,
Ashley
additional reading:
Philippians 2:13 / Hebrews 11 / John 6 / Psalm 86
reflect:
Where is God requesting me to show up and respond with “Here, I am”? What do I need to release to the Lord today? Be specific.
centering prayer:
LORD, help me to remember who you are. Keep me teachable and sensitive to you in this season while you are revealing yourself to me. In all my getting, let me get an understanding of you. I desire you. Help me to receive. Please remove anything that is keeping me from a heart of “Here, I am”. You are worth it; you have always been. In Jesus Name, Amen.
