Guest Post by Abigail Hamilton

“By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee…” Gen 22:16-17

I can almost imagine Abraham’s painfully slow steps has he trekked up that mountain with his son Isaac, his only son Isaac. Isaac would then ask, “Father, we have the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb we’re going to sacrifice?”  

At those words, Abraham’s heart would be ripped in two. How was he going to break the news to Isaac that he, Isaac, was going to be the sacrifice?

Abraham’s answer…”The Lord will provide.”

Abraham was so sure of this fact that he believed that God would even raise Isaac up from the dead to fulfill the promise of a great seed.

 In turn, God does come through for Abraham, and a ram is provided to die in the place of Isaac.

 However, the Lord’s response to Abraham is what has stirred my heart for the past couple of weeks. The Lord tells Abraham, “Because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”

God promised. God provided. But Abraham obeyed. Abraham did not withhold. Abraham did not withhold anything!

 It doesn’t matter how long you might have been in victory, there will come times that God will lay His finger on things in your life.

 Recently, I have had the Lord do just this. There are things that I have decided to lay aside. Things that in their nature probably weren’t wrong, but for the Lord, I was willing to give them up.

 I decided a long time ago that if I was going to follow Jesus, I was going to follow Him all the way home. It isn’t worth it to me to withhold even the smallest iota in my life.

 Why? I’ve seen God’s promises and provision and if I want to avail myself to this, I’ll have to obey Him to my fullest, leaving no reservations. No matter the aspect of my life. Whether my relationships, career, schooling, what I listen to, what I look at, what I wear, what I talk about, or even what I think…I want it to all be under the control of the Lord. 

 In the seats of my life, I don’t want to set up any reservation signs. I want Jesus to have full access to sit anywhere He wants. 

 I want to be blessed. I want to be multiplied. I want to conquer my enemies. I want to be a blessing to those around me.

I don’t want to withhold.  

 You have longed for sweet peace,

And for faith to increase,

And have earnestly, fervently prayed.

But you cannot have rest,

Or be perfectly blest,

Until all on the altar is laid.

Would you walk with the Lord

In the light of His Word,

And have peace and contentment alway?

You must do His sweet will

To be free from all ill–

On the altar your all you must lay.

Oh, we never can know

What the Lord will bestow

Of the blessings for which we have prayed,

Till our body and soul

He doth fully control,

And our all on the altar is laid.

Who can tell all the love

He will send from above,

And how happy our hearts will be made,

Of the fellowship sweet

We shall share at His feet

When our all on the altar is laid!

Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid?

Your heart does the Spirit control?

You can only be blest,

And have peace and sweet rest,

As you yield Him your body and soul.

-Elisha A. Hoffman