“The Terrible Goodness Of God” (Part 3)

When challenged by the demands of God’s terrible goodness, Abraham began with obedience and then followed that up with worship. In our final look at this event today, we see, additionally, that…

He Trusted (vv.5b-8)

“we will return… God will provide…”

This is the very heart of Christ Himself, who trusted the Father and obeyed to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil.2). He did it (Heb 12) “for the “joy awaiting”. He trusted for the good purposes of God to ultimately be revealed and experienced and embraced—even in the face of what seemed a terrible demand. So terrible that, as the full weight of the implications of the cross came upon Christ in the garden, He appealed for the cup to pass from Him. It did not—and, for the joy awaiting Christ endured the cross, despising the shame!

Abraham knew the faithfulness of God. He knew how God had fulfilled His promises, and embodied many of them in the person of Isaac himself. He looked to God’s goodness and trusted that God would keep those promises—even if Isaac were taken in death. You want to see trust?

“We will return!”

That, is trust, and it encapsulated Abraham’s response to a demand from God that could only be described as His “terrible goodness”.

We live life in a fallen world that is filled with pain, heartache, loss, disappointment, failure, and grief. How do we respond?

• Do we turn from God and consider His promise of love and grace an empty thing?
•    Do we doubt His goodness or His control, or both

—OR—

Do we, even in the things that seem to us terrible, look for the hand of God, and seek, by faith, to embrace His goodness and care?

I am convinced that we will never fully appreciate the wonderful goodness of God until we are able to trust Him in those moments when we are forced to embrace the terrible goodness of God.