When I was down in my emotional pit of despair and bewilderment in May, I cried out to God and asked for something to hold onto. I felt I was about to perish from grief. He said, “Remember Isaac.” The voice was so close I was startled.

“But You had a perfect lamb for Isaac. Isaac was not harmed or cut,” I argued with the Lord. He did not answer, but I sensed a leap of hope in my heart from His Spirit. I said aloud, “I do not understand, but somehow it comforts me to remember Isaac.”

[My daughter] used to be angry over the story of Isaac when she was a child. “Which parent brings the child to be sacrificed?” She was upset. “Wicked parent and wicked God.” I answered that it was a test. Today, I would have answered, “A parent with complete trust in God and His ways brings the only child to be sacrificed.”

What did Abraham do when God asked of him to sacrifice his only child?? He trusted in God. I believe Abraham trusted that God was true to His word and that He would not harm Isaac. Abraham said to his son, “God will find a way. And a perfect lamb.”

And God also needed Abraham to do this as a prophetic act, as it foretold about Jesus, the perfect Lamb that God the Father would sacrifice for humanity. God needed also to prove that Abraham’s trust in Him was complete and unwavering this time, because Abraham had failed before when he was getting Ismael by Hagar.

So, this was a test for Abraham. “Do you trust Me with Your promised son Isaac?” And a test for me. Did I trust God with my only daughter and child??

The promise was for Abraham and Sarah to have a son, and God had kept His promise.  So, Abraham had seen that the Lord’s promise came true.

God told me about my daughter when I was 11 years old. I knew then I would have only one child, a daughter. I would love her very much, and we would be similar in many ways. I also saw my husband. … What God told me came true. …

Now I knew I had to trust God completely with my daughter. No matter how it looked. I realized as much when God told me to remember Isaac. And He said I should not worry about the totally incomprehensible mess that I saw my child in. 

God said, “You will love her again. And all you are to do is to love her the best you can. You will get her back. Just give her to me.”

(Mom’s testimony edited by Tami Winkelman)