Several years ago, I did the Scripture reading at church. Yes, I have done them since! Anyway, this one was about Abraham taking his beloved son up Mount Moriah, ostensibly to sacrifice him to the Lord. Of course, we know what happened: God provided a ram. But going up that hill, Abraham had no idea what the end of that story would be.
Perhaps because of the subject matter, or perhaps because of God, or perhaps because of both, while I was doing the reading, I was undergoing a tremendous internal struggle. Even though the words continued going in my eyes and out my mouth, my brain was fighting with flashbacks to what was one of the most stressful times of my life. Strange thing is that then Dean Miller asked people whether they had ever had to trust God with something that seemed pretty impossible. (I don’t remember his exact words.) Next, he gave a great sermon that I won’t repeat here since it is linked.
In explaining the passage, Dean gave examples of people who obeyed God by ministering to youth, smuggling Bibles, etc.; the results were amazing. It reminded me of a sermon I heard in England right after the incident that caused this morning’s flashbacks. That one came from Mt 25:14-30, where Jesus talks about using the talents you are given in His service. The pastor there did a great job explaining how we should be using our gifts in His service, and—similar to this morning—then there will be great fruit.
But, in my life at that time, there wasn’t. I wondered what God would do with a servant who, after receiving and carefully investing much…then was blindsided when the stock market crashed. The England sermon was so upsetting that I walked out of the service and only reentered the sanctuary once it was over. To my amazement, the pastor called the congregation back because he said he’d received a word for someone who thought they had failed. Yup. The message was that the treasure gained belonged to the Lord, not the servants. And, as such, it is in His bank.
What did I learn? Sometimes, the Lord asks us to do something that makes no sense, and we never see the good fruit in this life. That’s because the treasure is in Heaven. The reward for us is simply that the Father is pleased and has a plan. Why am I sharing this? Because when God speaks, it is often meant for more than just the person who hears it first. If that is you, I pray you will receive the comfort given to me in England.