Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about” (Genesis 22:2 NIV).
My father led me in a prayer to receive Jesus as my Savior when I was nine years old, but only when we started to attend a church that preached sanctification did I understand that I had never allowed Jesus to be my Lord. I really wasn’t sure how to do that, but I was sure I needed to surrender everything to Him.
Repeatedly, I tried to take that step of surrender, but every time I thought about surrendering our twins to Jesus, a picture of them in caskets would rise up in my mind. Although I had no fear of dying myself, the enemy was raising up another bigger fear in my heart. Days went by as I wrestled with my fear. Then one day as I thought about surrendering our children to Jesus, the Holy Spirit superimposed another picture over the one with which Satan had been plaguing me. In my mind, I saw Jesus holding Robbie and Angie, one in each arm, looking on them with love-filled eyes.(Devotional from Homespun Faith, Reflections from the Seasons of Life, copyright 2014 Daisy Beiler Townsend. Available as paperback or ebook: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Xulon Press. Locally at Fresh Grounds, M & M Grocery, Leanna’s Books, Penn Alps in Grantsville, Maryland, or from me 724-373-8445 or donaisy@neo.rr.com.)
Suddenly I realized how ridiculous it was to think that I could take better care of our children than God could or that I could know better than He what was best for them. I cried out to God in repentance and took the step of surrendering to Him everything I held dear.
Heavenly Father, thank you for meeting us where we are and making our surrender possible as we place our trust in You. Amen.
Photo: Me at age nine.
(Devotional from Homespun Faith, Reflections from the Seasons of Life, copyright 2014 Daisy Beiler Townsend. Available as paperback or ebook: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Xulon Press. Locally at Fresh Grounds, M & M Grocery, Leanna’s Books, Penn Alps in Grantsville, Maryland, or from me 724-373-8445 or donaisy@neo.rr.com.)