May 12

 “Now I know that thou fearest God.” Genesis 22:12

One who has become pliable in God’s hand instantly responds to any fresh desire of his. Just at the point when Abraham placed Isaac on the altar and raised the knife to slay him, God called to him to stay his hand and showed him a ram which he should offer instead of his son. This might well have posed a new problem for Abraham. How could he ever discern God’s will if at one moment he told him to do one thing and the next moment the very reverse?

If we attach our own thoughts to the will of God, then of course when he changes his commands our thoughts will remain fixed. We shall then wonder how possibly to be consistent! For Abraham, however, all was perfectly simple and straightforward. His instant obedience was not to reason but to trust God in all circumstances. This left no room for perplexity. In this he gives us a beautiful picture of a man who has been saved from himself, a man who truly fears God.