Open Heaven 13 January 2025: God Tests
MEMORISE: 1 Peter 4:19
Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing as unto a faithful Creator.
READ: Genesis 22:1-12
1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.
2 And he said, Take now thy 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.
3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him.
4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off.
5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.
6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.
7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?
8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.
9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood.
10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son.
11 And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I.
12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.
Read Yesterday’s Open Heaven Devotional Here
God is a jealous God (Deuteronomy 4:24); He never wants anything to take His place in your heart. God wants you to love Him wholeheartedly (Luke 10:25-28), and at different times, He will test you to see if you really love Him as you should. Your response in those moments will show whether you truly love Him or not. The tests may hurt or excite you, but you must not feel so hurt that you deny Christ or become so excited that you forget Him. You must keep Him as your only focus at all times.
If God decides to test you, He might take you through a painful experience to see if it will cause you to deny Him as He did with Job (Job 1). On the other hand, He may decide to bless you with something big to see your reaction. If you are still obedient and submissive to Him afterwards, He will then give you more.
Years ago, during one of our services, God told me to announce that three breakthroughs were coming for someone. The first was to be given to Him, the second was to be shared equally between Him and the fellow, and the third was for the fellow concerned. After a few weeks, a widow came to me, saying that she had brought the proceeds of the first breakthrough. I knew she was struggling because her husband owed the bank a lot of money before he died, which she had to repay. Therefore, I told her that the prophecy may not have been for her. She insisted, so I collected the money from her and kept it aside just in case she came back for it. Not long after, the bank called her to apologize, saying that they were the ones owing her husband a lot of money, which they paid her. God tested her with a little breakthrough, and when she passed the test, He brought something big her way.
Now, you need to note that God will never allow you to be tested beyond what you can handle, and with every test, He supplies the grace that is required to pass it (1 Corinthians 10:13). To pass God’s test, you must use the grace that He supplies to you. May you not fail when your love for God is tested, in Jesus’ name.
PRAYER POINT
Father, please give me the grace to always love You in whatever situation I find myself.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR
Genesis 42-43
Open Heaven 13 January 2025
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