When reading Genesis 22, the easiest approach is to keep on reading. To ignore the tension present and get to the part where the Angel of the Lord interrupts Abraham and rescues Isaac. To rush through the agonizing three days and four nights after God had instructed Abraham to sacrifice his son, but had not explained anything about the future. To resolve the conflict by reaching the end of the tale.

However, that’s not how our lives work.

In real life, we don’t get to flip a page, read the end of the story, and feel content. Instead, we live in the time in between, caught in the strife of moments and the agony of uncertain decisions.

Sometimes, when we hit these crossroads in our life, God asks us to sacrifice. It can be an object, a desire, an activity: the list is endless. It can be incredibly difficult to do so, because God often doesn’t promise us a good ending while asking us to give up something we hold dear.

Yet, He is Yahweh Yirah.

Abraham was able to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, despite his uncertainty, because he believed that God would fulfill his promise to provide him heirs through Isaac, even if Isaac was dead. In the same way, when doubt overtakes me, I try to have faith in the God who provides for my future, even when he seems to be asking me to sacrifice my future on his instructions.

From our limited perspective, it’s hard to believe that the sacrifices God asks of us will lead to a better future. But He is God, and we are man. And nothing is impossible with God.