I think I am growing in this area, but there is much more to learn. This past week, I was listening to a John Piper sermon called “The Hope of Exiles on the Earth,” from Hebrews 11:13-22. In it, Piper was talking about how our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, did not receive the inheritance they were promised. Instead, they sought and desired an inheritance that was not of this world and so lived as strangers and exiles while they were here on earth. We Christians find ourselves in the same situation. Our citizenship is in heaven and from it we await a Savior, Christ Jesus our Lord (Philippians 3:20). Our treasure is not here. We may have houses and cars and material things and family and friends and food (and we enjoy them), but our treasure is Christ and all the riches we have in Him (forgiveness, freedom, adoption into God’s family, peace, eternal life, etc.). Things that robbers and moths and rust and failing economies cannot threaten or destroy (Matthew 6:19-20).
As Piper continued on in the passage, he talked about how Abraham had received the son God promised him (Isaac), through whom God would make him a mighty nation and through whom Abraham’s descendants would bless the whole world (Genesis 12:1-3). This is the child his wife Sarah, herself 90, bore to Abraham when he was 100 years old. This was the child that Abraham’s hopes and dreams were wrapped up in. And this is the child that God asked Abraham to sacrifice (!). As Piper pointed out, this to Abraham must have felt like the death of a dream. Not matter how he looked at this command from earthly eyes, this did not seem like it could end well. But, in faith, Abraham obeyed God’s command. He trusted that God would somehow work it out. He trusted that God would keep His promises, for He had proven Himself faithful thus far. And, as the account in Genesis unfolds, God intervenes and does not allow Abraham to slay his son. It was a test and Abraham proved his faith. He believed that God could even raise the dead (Hebrews 11:19). And God provided a ram to sacrifice in place of Isaac (Genesis 22:13). Abraham’s obedience was the pathway to joy…and to a much stronger faith.
It was this point in the sermon, at the very end, that the Holy Spirit convicted my heart. In letting go of my preconceived notions of the future, of my idea of what my future ministry and life should look like, I am facing a dying dream. But I am not trusting that God’s plans are greater; that He could either resurrect that dream or replace it with a better one. I'm not believing that obedience is the pathway to joy. Piper ended with this resounding question:
Do you desire God and His way and His promises more than anything, and do you believe that He can and will honor your faith and obedience by being unashamed to call Himself your God, and to use all His wisdom and power and love to turn the path of obedience into the path of life and joy?Yes! I desire this! I want this! Lord, make me this way.
Slowly, ever so slowly, I am learning what it means to surrender and to lean on God’s everlasting arms (Deuteronomy 33:27). He will sustain me. He will guide me. And He will fulfill His good and perfect plans for me. All I need to do is trust Him and obey.
This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. Psalm 18:30
