Vicki's Wedding Dress

Vickie and her boyfriend knelt in our family room, asked Jesus into their hearts, and found the joy of having their sins forgiven. A few months later Vickie learned of the need to surrender entirely and to offer her entire life to God. As she prayed, the Holy Spirit examined the sincerity of her offer. Would she be willing not to wear the beautiful wedding dress she had purchased? Vickie said that as a girl she had not had a lot of pretty clothes, and her wedding dress represented what was dearest to her heart.

It was a struggle, but finally Vicki knew that if God said not to wear it, she would not. With that surrender, God saw she had offered Him her heart's deepest desire. Vickie knew God accepted her sacrifice. She realized later that God had not forbid her to wear the dress but had simply asked if she was willing not to wear it. Vickie walked down the aisle in her beautiful dress.

God knows what our "wedding dress" is. For Abraham, it was Isaac, his much-loved son of promise. God was asking Abraham to surrender all his ideas about how God was going to fulfill His promise to bless him.

When Abraham surrendered Isaac, God didn't need to ask, "Now, Abraham, what about that land or those sheep?" God knew Isaac represented Abraham's total surrender. That is always what He seeks. He knows if we surrender what is most dear, He has all of us.

The Holy Spirit is never vague about His requirements. He knows exactly the one thing we must surrender in order for Him to have our all. It is not that He wants to deny us pleasure. He wants to know, "Do you love me more than this?"

Dear Jesus, I love You more than my "Isaac."

"Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son" (Genesis 22:12).