What is your "Isaac?"

Dearest Ones,

All over the world, Christians are united in their spiritual journey toward Easter joy! In this second week of Lent, we are challenged to either accept or reject Lent. Jesus wants us to either get into Lent or forget it. He doesn't want half-way Christians. Some people are indifferent, they neither accept or reject it. Either be for it or against it. I hope you choose to have the greatest Lent of your life. Let's not be afraid to follow Jesus, find someone who needs your help, make Sunday a real worshipping day for your family by saying special prayers together and get into a deeper prayer life! Don't wait until next year - for some of us, this could be our last Lent! God always hears prayers - don't ever stop praying.One of the strangest stories in the Bible is in Genesis, when Abraham is asked to place his only son, Isaac, on the altar of sacrifice. He's actually asked by God to kill his only son. This seems to us something barbaric and primitive. Abraham and Sarah had no children and were too old to have them, and yet, God told them they would have a son, Isaac, who would have many descendants. They did have a son named Isaac. But Abraham is asked by God to give him up. It didn't make any sense to Abraham and it doesn't to us, either. Nevertheless, Abraham made the 3-day trip to the mountain to kill his son. This couldn't have been easy for Abraham - it must have nearly broken his heart. He probably would rather have chosen to put the knife into his own heart. But he loved God more than his beloved son, Isaac, so what else could he do? God doesn't do bad things, he knew that, even though he didn't understand. That's the way it is with most of us - when something goes wrong, we try to understand God. We never will. As a reward for his strong faith, when Abraham was about to kill his son, an angel of the Lord stopped him and said, "Do not lay a hand on the boy. You have shown your great love for God and now he will reward you mightily." The rest of the story we know, how Abraham through Isaac, had many descendants and led a happy life. In fact, he was the great, great, great grandfather of Jesus. What does all this mean for us? Is God trying to tell us something? I believe all of us, at some time or another, will be asked to give up our most precious treasure, our "Isaac." What is your "Isaac?" Can you put your "Isaac" on the altar of sacrifice? Maybe its a lost friendship, your health, or your last child leaving home, or you have lost your job, or you lost a parent, a child, or even your reputation. Try putting it right now on the altar of sacrifice, just like Abraham did with Isaac. You will feel a heavenly peace. God will take care of it and reward you for your trust. Once you put something on the altar of sacrifice, the devil will try every way possible to get you to take it back. Don't allow that! I have an altar in my room, where I have a basket with offerings written on pieces of paper. This reminds me of what I have given up to God. God knows what it is like to give up His only Son and see Him die, so He knows what we are going through. Maybe you are not a follower of Christ today because of something that has happened in your life - something that seems tragic and senseless. And you think, "How could God let this happen to me? I can't believe in that kind of God." God's ways seem strange and beyond understanding. But what matters is not our tiny little opinions. God never said we would understand Him. The Bible tells us that God is Love. He cares far more than we realize about the things that happen to us. You matter to God, even if at times you feel as if you do not matter to anyone else. When we go through distressing circumstances, where God seems to be acting in strange ways, when things are far from clear, we need to hold on to what is clear - God's promises, and to trust Him to work things out in ways we cannot understand. Without arguing or delay, we need to put our "Isaacs," our disappointments and our sorrows, on the altar and let God take care of them.

Love and prayers,
Sister Francelle