| Chapter three in Blackaby & Blackaby covers the manner in which God prepares leaders, including a comprehensive discussion of Abraham’s development as a leader. The account of Abraham is a remarkable example of responding faithfully to God’s calling to lead. For this devotional discussion, please read Genesis 22:1-18 and the accompanying note The Law of Sacrifice: Abraham Pays a Price in the Maxwell Leadership Bible. This chapter of Scripture begins with God calling out to Abraham, and Abraham answering God directly. These two persons, one infinite and the other finite were in communication. God had already begun to reveal a vision to Abraham, in which Abraham was to be a leader from whom kings and nations would come (Genesis 17). Still, God’s calling to leadership comes through sacrifice and testing. We can tell much about a person by what they cling to. We can tell even more about a leader’s character by what they are willing to give up for their cause. In the case of Abraham, His obedience to God was tested in a manner that is hard to imagine. He was asked to give up his beloved son, whom God himself had promised to provide years earlier. As you read Genesis 22:1-18 and the accompanying note by Maxwell & Elmore, please consider how God has tested (or is now testing) you in your life. Please discuss how God uses periods of testing to refine leaders, in what Charles Swindoll calls the “crucible of leadership.” |
