The Pariah’s prayer

My dossier is ever before you

Whom shall I run to?

Torn by the foe within

Beaten by the whip of sin

Drowned by the murmurs of self-

How long will I ask for forgiveness?

The law of death I wrestled with;

The eyes of my heart were getting dim

The gate of grace I could seldom see

And so my will was lost to sin:

What then was my quid pro quo?

Death! How else could I be bestowed?

That very day you were crowned in thorns.

Broken and bruised you were clad in scorn

But then it was prophecy all along.

You chose to be hung on that rugged cross

That I should not be forever lost

This diaphanous heart asks for your light

That it may finally receive your sight

And see the end of this fight

Which you won the very day you died;

I also ask for the new life

Which you wrought by your Spirit Divine.

Yisa Samuel.

 

The potter’s intention

In the book of Genesis chapter 22, Abraham was instructed by God to sacrifice his only beloved son Isaac but we learn that Abraham was looking beyond the consequence of Isaac’s death but the infallible word of God earlier spoken to him in the book of Genesis21v12: “…it is through Isaac that you will have the descendants I have promised“. His faith, which was being tested, was a practical demonstration of Abraham’s reliability in God; He believed that God himself will provide [a lamb]; He was convinced that even if Isaac died, the God of impossibility-as seen in the birth of Isaac through Sarah-would fulfill his promise. In fact, Abraham had slaughtered Isaac in his mind because the bible makes us to understand in Heb 11v19 that “Abraham reckoned that God was able to raise Isaac from death—and, so to speak, Abraham did receive Isaac back from death.”

 

This magnitude of Abraham’s conviction reflects the fact that his act of obedience had an underlying factor-Assurance! The following verses substantiate this statement: God himself will provide one [a lamb] (v8);“Then he picked up the knife to kill him [Isaac]”(v10). After the Angel of God forbade Abraham from sacrificing Isaac and eventually provided a ram for slaughter, God responded by saying “I make a vow by my own name—the LORD is speaking—that I will richly bless you. Because you did this and did not keep back your only son from me, I promise that I will give you as many descendants as there are stars in the sky or grains of sand along the seashore. Your descendants will conquer their enemies. All the nations will ask me to bless them as I have blessed your descendants—all because you obeyed my command.”(Vv16-18)

 

What’s the lesson from this story? At times, God tests our faith. Even though it may not exactly be in the same way as Abraham’s testing. James 1v2-3 says “My friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials [testing], the result is the ability to endure.” Between the time Abraham received instruction from God to sacrifice Isaac and the time the lamb for sacrifice appeared, Abraham had to learn patience; He had to develop the ability to endure. It was certainly a painful period but what sustained Abraham (and what still sustains believers today) was the tenacity of his faith in God. In tough situations which appear as trials, we need to hold on to the infallible promises of God contained in his word. It’s therefore imperative that we learn that when God (The Almighty Potter) brings trials our way in order to test our faith, he has something in mind: James 1v4 explains it “Endure until your testing is over. Then you will be mature and complete, and you won’t need anything.” This is the reason for our testing–the potter’s intention! One way in which God reckons that we are his is by putting us to the faith test. So rejoice when your faith is being tested!