Sometimes it seems so Hard

I was reading this morning one of the toughest passages (I think) in all of the Bible:

God tells Abraham to take his son, his only son, Isaac, and sacrifice him on Mt. Moriah.

It caused me to muse a bit about times of testing, and times when things seem to be so hard... First the text:

Genesis 22:1-2

1 After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”

2 He said, “Take 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.”

The story is so strange because at first it seems so NOT-God...but it is! Yet the story is so clearly a prophetic picture.

It is his "only son", and Mt. Moriah was the pinnacle spot of what would eventually be Jerusalem, and lastly, the words at the end show God's purpose in the test:

Genesis 22:7-8

7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.”

God will provide the lamb for himself...YES.

We often believe we’re all alone during those times of great difficulty, times of testing…but God is there, and he is going through it with us. 

Is it hard? Yes… Is it therefore a time to despair?  No…  It’s time to trust.

Remember Tom Hanks in "A League of Their Own"...it's where my thought for today on those times of testing when it seems so hard came to:

"Of course it's hard;
It's suppose to be hard.
If it would be easy,
everybody would do it. 

Hard is what makes it great!

Peace to you!