Nothing Spared

Date: Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Genesis 22 is the most bone-chilling, edgy text in the Torah. God asks Abraham for Isaac, the promised child he waited decades for, the son of his old age. It’s a test that pushes human faith to the absolute breaking point. There are no easy, Hallmark-card answers here. It’s a story about the “Akedah” otherwise known as “the binding of Isaac” where everything is laid on the altar. It’s a profound foreshadowing of the New Testament, where another Father would not spare His Son, but would offer Him up for us all. The similarities are staggering: On Moriah, God provided the ram to save the son. On Calvary, Jesus was the Lamb who gave His life to save the world. Abraham’s obedience points us to the ultimate obedience of Christ.

Psalm 13 captures the internal scream of such a moment: “How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?” This isn’t a polite Sunday-school prayer; it’s a desperate, raw plea. To follow God to the mountain of sacrifice requires a faith that can handle the silence of God and the confusion of the command. The connection is brutal but beautiful: we trust God not because we understand the “why” of our current crisis, but because we know the “Who” of the Covenant. Even when the knife is raised and the path makes no sense, the Psalmist reminds us that we can eventually sing of His unfailing love. Faith isn’t the absence of questions; it’s the presence of trust in the midst of them.

Devotional Prompts:

What is the Isaac in your life; the thing you value most that God might be asking you to surrender?
How do you reconcile the goodness of God with the tests of life that feel like they are breaking you?
When you feel forgotten by God (Psalm 13), what specific truths about His character can you cling to?
How does the sacrifice of Jesus change how you view the sacrifices God asks of you?

Prayer: Father, give us a faith that doesn’t blink when the path gets steep and the instructions feel heavy. Help us to hold loosely to the gifts You’ve given and tightly to You, the Giver. When we are at our breaking point, let us see the Provision You have already made for us in Your Son. Amen.