God’s Nature Is to Respond to the Faith of His People

What does God notice about you today? God knows you to your core and sees you in all the intricacies of your life, but what does God actually notice? What does God value and what is important to Him? Think of the most prominent figures in the Bible. What was impressive about them to God? Did they impress God? How do you impress an omnipotent being like God?

Think about Abraham, the father of nations. What did God notice about him? The Bible answers that question in Hebrews 11 where it says, “By faith Abraham.” In Hebrews 11 you have a long listing of people who did amazing things, but they were different things. What Abraham, Rahab, Joshua, and Moses did to make their mark in history were very different, but what they had in common is not what they did but who they trusted. They all believed God. In other words, God values and notices faith.

In Genesis 22, you have a prime example of God testing Abraham’s faith. It was not a test of his strength, ability, or knowledge. In fact, it was precisely in the absence of those things. Genesis 22:1-2 says, “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt [test] Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now they son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.”

What you learn from this story is that God’s very nature is to respond to the faith of His people. It is not strength or virtue that He responds to, but faith. For example, when we go, God guides. He responds. In verse 1 notice that God’s guidance seems to be somewhat vague. God said, “Offer your son Isaac upon one of the mountains which I will tell you of.” Did God have a particular mountain in mind? Yes. The details matter. God had a very specific mountain in mind. Did God tell Abraham what that mountain was at the beginning? No. He simply said to go to a mountain that He would show him.

It reminds me of a precious story that is referenced in Hebrews 11 where it says, “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” What he lacked in knowledge was more than compensated for by his obedience. Obedience is faith. Sometimes we think faith is a feeling. You don’t know how Abraham felt here. I am assuming that he was perplexed. He probably thought that what God was asking him to do went against every instinct in his nature, and it went against what he knew was God’s nature.

Later, the Bible tells us that Abraham obeyed “accounting that God was able to raise him [Isaac] up, even from the dead.” Abraham fully intended to take the life of his son knowing God could raise him from the dead. As it turned out, God didn’t need to raise Isaac from the dead because God gave a substitute in Isaac’s place. Abraham didn’t know how God would provide. In fact, what he was assuming God could do would have been even more drastic than what God did do. The point is that he obeyed. Hebrews 11:3 says, “Through faith we understand…” I don’t have to understand everything in order to obey God. I need to obey God, then I will understand. When we go, God guides. God’s very nature is to respond to the faith of His people.

Multiple times Isaac is referred to as Abraham’s beloved only son. Why is he his “only” son if he also had Ishamel? It is because we are talking about God’s promise. He was going to make a great nation of Abraham by which all the nations of the world would be blessed. He was talking about the Messiah who would come through Abraham’s seed. So, when we go, God guides.

When we give, God provides. When Abraham and Isaac were trudging up this mountain that God showed him, Isaac said, “Where is the lamb for a burnt offering? Here are the fire and wood, but where is the offering?” Abraham said, “My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering.” In John 1:29 John says, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.” This Lamb is God’s Son. You see, Abraham didn’t give God a son. God gave His Son Jesus Christ to Abraham and anyone who will come to Him by faith in Jesus. God sacrificed His Son on our behalf. So, God will provide Himself a lamb.

In verse 12 the Lord withholds Abraham’s hand and basically says, “Don’t fear. I see that you will obey.” Verse 13 says, “Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket… and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up as a burnt offering in the stead of his son.” This ram was in the stead of his son. Jesus was in the stead of Abraham’s son and all sinners. God gave a substitute.

In verse 18 God says, “And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.” That obedience is called faith. Faith is not a feeling. It is an action, obedience. Feelings can follow, but the action of faith is to obey God.

Today, I don’t know what you need to give, but I know when you give, God provides. Don’t be wasteful, but when God asks, be a cheerful giver. When you are, know that God will provide. God provides not so much for you as through you. He doesn’t give to you; He provides through you. When you give, God ensures that you can, not so you can be rich but so you can give.

Why is Abraham such a prominent figure in the Bible? It was not because of his strength or knowledge. In this story he was an old man, and as to knowledge, he did not even know where God was guiding. But when God guides, God provides. When we give, God provides. God’s very nature is to respond to the faith of His people. When you lack strength, understanding, and courage, live by faith because God’s nature is to respond to the faith of His people.