February 23 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

A man who lives with God must always surrender something. Abraham had to give up his native land and his father's house, he had to flee from Canaan to Egypt, and he had to part with his nephew Lot. Abraham and Sarah had to give up every normal possibility for a child. They had to abandon all human hope for a baby before God worked out his own possibilities. Only after they had suffered and after both had laughed in unbelief did God make them laugh the laughter of those who taste God's faithfulness.

And now Abraham had to prepare for the last test. The life of a person who lives with God is a course of study; it is a lesson plan designed to make him give up more and more, so that he will finally hope in God alone.

Here is Isaac, Abraham and Sarah's child, playing near the tent. Faith is proof of things not seen. But this child is proof of God's faithfulness. God and his promises are real in the boy who walks in the sunlight. Every time Isaac laughs, Abraham and Sarah laugh too, for God has remembered his mercy. The promise has been fulfilled, and the proof is tangible and beautiful—Isaac.

And now Abraham must give Isaac up.

Maybe we really meant it when we sang, "Jesus, I my cross have taken, all to leave and follow thee." But perhaps we did not know what we were singing. Don't resent it, then, when God takes more and more of ours, as long as we receive more and more of his.

This was the last test for the father of all believers. He was a man who walked with God. Or perhaps we should say that God walked with this man. And God's way with men and women is to make them give up more, so that they may get more.

REFLECTIONS

What have you had to surrender because you "live with God"?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.