Abraham considered Isaac to be a special gift from God. But God-given gifts can be both great and dangerous things. If we’re not careful we can end up relying on the gifts God’s given us, more than we rely on God Himself. We start doing things in our own strength and forget that we need God. But everything that we’re gifted with, and everything we do, should be to glorify God, not ourselves. Our gift for teaching should point people to God, not to show off our theology. Our gift for music should be used to lead people into worship, not to have people looking at us. Basically, whatever we don’t turn into praise, turns into pride. And that’s something the Bible warns us about. In Proverbs we’re told: ‘Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall’ (16:18 NIV). And in James it says: ‘God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble’ (4:6 NKJV). What are your greatest God-given gifts? What are your most significant God-ordained opportunities? What God-sized dreams has the Holy Spirit given you? Those things shouldn’t take the place of God in our lives. Sometimes God-ordained dreams aren’t just born, they have to be reborn. If they become more important to us than God, we have to sacrifice them for the sake of our souls. We have to put them on the altar and be willing to sacrifice them. Just like Abraham had to be willing to lay his son Isaac on the altar and be willing to sacrifice him. ‘Abraham…bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood’ (NIV). Sometimes our dreams must die before they can be resurrected for God’s glory. So we need to be prepared to take them to the altar.

What Now?

David said: ‘Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on your altar’ (Psalm 5:3 MSG). So today, lay out all the parts of your life on the altar and surrender it to God.