good, better, best.

Life is so complex. So many times, we are presented with a thousand options, and it feels like those options can have twice as many potential outcomes. When we are faced with a big life decision, we often struggle to know what God wants for us to choose. This is especially difficult if all options presented have the potential to be good. We tend to think in terms of choosing between good and bad decisions, but what if all the choices have the potential to be good, better or best?

Abraham was promised a son, who would grow into a mighty nation. Of course, we know how the story goes. Abraham and Sarah aren’t immediately able to conceive, so he impregnates Hagar. Hagar gives birth to Ishmael. Sarah continues to wait to conceive a son, and I’m sure every day felt like agony. When she finally conceives and gives birth to Isaac, I can only imagine the joy she and Abraham felt. At long last, the promise is fulfilled! As time goes on and Isaac grows into a young man, God speaks to Abraham and tells him that he must sacrifice his son whom he loves on an altar at the top of Mt. Moriah. This news had to be horrifying and startling. Abraham and Sarah were obviously quite old (like, old old) and the concept of her having yet another child if Isaac was to be sacrificed was improbable at best.

Abraham doesn’t argue, or even complain. Genesis 22 simply says that the next morning, he loaded up his donkey, took Isaac and two servants and began to head toward Mt. Moriah. When they had traveled three days, he told the servants that he and Isaac were going to go up the mountain to worship and they would return. As a side note, I traditionally learned that Isaac was quite young during this journey, but he was more likely between late teens and early thirties. He was strong enough to carry the firewood for sacrifice up the mountain, and knew well the traditions of sacrifice. He was well aware that they were not bringing a sacrificial animal with them, and when he asked his father, he merely received the response of “God will provide.” Truly, Abraham had no idea what God would do - maybe he thought that God would bring Isaac back to life after the sacrifice. I assume he was praying the entire journey. I know I would have been. It is not recorded that he ever lacked faith that God would come through and continue fulfilling the work He began with the birth of Isaac.

When they reached the top of the mountain, Abraham built an altar and bound Isaac and laid him on top of the firewood. If you’ll remember, Isaac was old enough and strong enough to carry enough firewood for an altar up a mountain. He could have resisted his father, who again, was quite old at this point, but Isaac did not resist, and neither did Abraham. Just as Abraham was ready to take the knife and sacrifice Isaac, the Angel of the Lord stopped him, saying “Do not lay a hand on him! Now I know that you fear God, because you have not even withheld your son from Him.” The Angel reiterates the promise that was originally made to Abraham, and tells him that there is a ram in the thicket, just for this sacrifice.

Abraham so deeply trusted God that he knew if he was being asked to sacrifice the child of the promise, that God would come through. He did not understand how, why, or when, but he believed that all would be made right. God’s word would be fulfilled. If this doesn’t seem to be a choice between good, better and best, I understand. Abraham had plenty of options - he could have bargained with God, he could have sacrificed Ishmael, he could have refused to sacrifice anything at all. Those choices would have all been disobedience. The only choice, and the best choice, was to be fully obedient and faithful to God’s urging to go and sacrifice the thing that God had given him that was beloved all else - the son of promise.

Our lives today are not often full of the audible voice of God, with direct instructions. (If your life is full of that, can you call me? I just have some questions…) The Old Testament is rife with stories of the Angel of the Lord visiting unwitting people, and directly telling them what to do and where to go. I sometimes feel very jealous of that direct access, then I remember that the Lord, in His gracious kindness, sent the Comforter. The Holy Spirit is God within us, guiding and directing us as we submit to His will and His way. All these choices we have, that leave us with the options of good, better and best are only resolved through submitting and listening.

Over the last few weeks, I have been faced with a lot of decisions. I have chosen to fast and pray one day a week in an effort to hear more clearly what God has for me to do. None of the options presented to me are bad, or would lead me to a place of harm. They would not pull me away from that ethereal plan of God. That being said, I don’t know which one would best allow me to grow the Kingdom and honor Christ at this season of my life. Last Thursday, I felt incredibly discouraged. I was going to have to make a big yes or a definite no within a day or so, and the weight of my decision was on my shoulders. I could tell you that I prayed some big, amazing prayer or did some great spiritual thing, but the truth is I simply prayed, “God, would you encourage me today? Would you just let me know if this is a no?” I packed up, went to work, and went about my day. Around noon, I was still discouraged, and still praying over and over for encouragement. During my lunch hour, God answered my prayer through someone who used phrases right out of my prayer journal. This is certainly a person who had no idea that I had prayed this prayer, and it wasn’t even a spiritual discussion. When I stepped away from the conversation, I texted my friend Hanna and all I said was, “Why do I ever doubt God?”

These decisions are still mostly up in the air for me. I made a big no, and I know it was the right one. I felt more at peace than I have in days, but the problem still isn’t resolved. Even making that no, one could have been a really cool yes, I told God that I trusted His no. I trust His leading toward the best yes for my life, even if it means I have to wait longer on it. That might sound like a Christian fortune cookie to you, and I guess maybe it is, but all I can tell you is that I believe it. I believe in a God who can allow old women to conceive a child of promise. I believe that the same God can call me to sacrifice the most beautiful gift on the altar for Him. I believe that He can provide a better plan, the best plan, the best yes. I won’t tell you that it’s easy, but over and over again, I have seen Him be faithful to me. I have seen Him use unsuspecting people to encourage me, to fulfill prayers that only He and I know about. Even if all the things I have planned fail spectacularly, I know He will be faithful to the promises He has made me. I have seen Him be faithful over and over again - why would He stop now?

If all this feels a bit far fetched to you today, that’s alright. Let’s start small. What is the one thing that you can entrust to God today? Are you willing to stop and submit the things you hold dear to your heart to Him, to place them on the altar? If it’s gifts and talents, if it’s your ideologies, your career - you fill in the blank. What are you willing to surrender to Him, even if it’s terrifying? I promise if you tune in, He will show you the places you can surrender. He will show you the parts of yourself that you’re holding back from Him. He is worth putting it all on the altar, friend. He is the best and most beautiful yes that I have ever made. Even if all my big decisions fall apart, and my plans stop, and I am destitute tomorrow, He will be worth it. Will you let Him be that for you, too?

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Nicole Worm is the founder of Redeemed Collective, devoted dog mom to Bear and committed to seeing the Atlanta Falcons with the Super Bowl.