I want to share a story about how I receive answers to prayer. To provide a "spoiler": I have never had an angelic visitation or a lightning-bolt response to life's big questions. However, I have received answers.
Many years ago, I began to struggle with Isaac’s role in scripture. Is he merely a placeholder in the Abrahamic lineage? A passive figure? I found no answers. In the story of the near-sacrifice, I realized Isaac was not a small boy; he was surely strong enough to resist his aging father. He must have voluntarily succumbed. Because no servant was present, Isaac had to be willing—meaning he had to have his own testimony of God's will. I suspect Sarah also knew; Abraham likely wouldn't have dared return home had she not received her own divine reassurance.
Abraham was tested to the absolute limits of his faith, perhaps drawing hope from the memory of his own rescue from an altar in his youth. I had heard many comparisons between Isaac and Christ, and Abraham and the Father, but while I tried to feel reassured by them, something felt "off."
Eventually, I put the question away. I studied modern revelation and consulted trusted researchers, but ultimately decided I didn’t need to know right now. I held onto my faith, trusting that one day, I would understand the "why" of Isaac.
Recently, I finished a book that—despite the author's heavy sarcasm—introduced me to an apocryphal account of Isaac. In this version, Abraham isn't stopped at the last minute. He actually sacrifices Isaac. As part of the ritual, Isaac is consumed by fire, and Abraham returns home alone. The account did not include how Isaac returned whole and healed, just that he did.
This story of restoration makes Isaac a profound "type and shadow" of Jesus Christ. If the Jehovah who would one day raise Lazarus could bring Isaac back from the ashes, then Isaac truly represents the Resurrection. This perspective also offers Abraham glimpse into Father in Heaven's heart when he sacrificed His Son; he learned of God’s hesed (loving-kindness) through a harrowing parallel of the Atonement.
This account also adds context to why Abraham and Sarah were so protective of Isaac afterward. They wouldn't even let him travel to find a wife, instead sending a trusted servant who was also faithful to God. They knew the value of Isaac's life in a way few others could.
It finally answers the question of why we worship the "God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." Isaac was no "crippled weakling." He was a man who knew God on an intimate level, trusting Him with his very life.
It took forty years to get that answer. It wasn’t a question vital to my salvation or immediate plans, yet the Lord was still willing to answer it because it mattered to me. My testimony is that we must determine if an answer is necessary right now. Sometimes we need fast answers, but often we need the patience to wait on the Lord—and the wisdom to know the difference.
I could have made this a "hill to die on" for my testimony, but what would I have gained? My faith had already carried me through a harrowing youth. Had I obsessed over this and changed my career to archaeology or history, I never would have worked at Thiokol; I never would have met my husband.
Everything worked out. God let me know He was listening, helped me recognize the non-urgency of my doubt, and reassured me that the truth was known to Him. Sometimes, that is the most peaceful reassurance we can receive.
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Since I don't want to claim credit where it isn't due, I admit to using Google Gemini to edit my writing. The original was mine. The flavor was mine. The editing was not mine. Thank you Google Gemini!
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