Embracing the Unexpected by Cherice Hernandez

 

Hello Brave Hearted Steppers,

“Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you” (Genesis 22:2).

Have you ever been put in a predicament where God has asked you to sacrifice the very thing you hold dear to your heart? 

Did you hold back? Did you refuse to do what was asked of you? Did you try asking God continuously “WHY?”

You see like Abraham, God asked him to sacrifice his son. As a father, how do you think he must have felt in that moment? God had given Issac to him, and now he wants his son as an offering. God’s command to sacrifice Isaac was to test Abraham’s faith. God’s test is to prove, purify, and strengthen our faith. The testing causes us to seek Him and trust Him more. God’s test of Abraham allowed His child—and all the world—to see the reality of faith in action.

What is something that God has told you to sacrifice? Are you holding back from giving God what he is asking you to give him? 

What does it look like? Is it a job, hobby, person, family member, or relationship?

Is this person or thing God is asking you to sacrifice moving you away from the Lord, or pulling you closer? You have to remember, that what was once used as a blessing in one season of our life can dry up and no longer serve you in the next season God is going to take you through. I like to call them dried-up blessings. You cannot move forward into the fullness of God by walking around with something or someone that will not take you to the next level with God and bring you into a deeper intimacy with him 

The word tells us in Jeremiah 29:13-14

13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

I promise you, when you take the moment to read God's word, to take time to fast and pray and seek the face of the Master, you will get all the answers you need. Don’t for a second think that through your sacrifice you are losing out. Don’t think for a second that God will not ask you to sacrifice something in return for something better in your life. 

Your sacrifice, offering, and obedience to GOD will bring big blessings to your life.

In this walk with Jesus, that should be our heart posture to him always. Where our heart says “YES AND AMEN!” To all he asks us to do. Because at the end of it all – we will expect the unexpected. So today, I encourage you to be obedient to the voice of God and allow him to move in the ways he wants to move in your life. 

Let us pray:

Lord, I come before your presence today. I thank you for your mercy and grace. I thank you for your love that never stops following me and your blood that never stops covering me and my family. I pray Lord, that whoever reads this blog would be led to let go of the very thing you ask of them. That their faith would scream louder than their fear. You give them peace that surpasses all understanding and a heart that will continue to follow you no matter the cost and sacrifice. Lord, I pray that through their willingness to pursue and follow your heart only grows daily and that you press on their hearts like never before. Your word tells us to seek you and we will find – so lord I pray you burn in them – so that they never look back but better yet look forward and heavenward.  I thank you in advance for what you have done in their lives. In Jesus mighty name I pray, Amen.

Blessings,
Cherice Hernandez
Brave Hearted Blog Writer