God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together. Genesis 22:8 (NLT)
When God called Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, he was pretty clear about what he wanted Abraham to do. And to Abraham's credit, the next morning he began the task put before him. The next morning? Really? I would have been tempted to ponder a while to see if I had heard that right. I would have wanted to pray about it for a season to get clarity. But Abraham had heard that voice before and he loved it. He knew who was speaking to him.
He started the three day journey. I can't imagine what must have been going through his mind as he put one foot in front of the other. What was he thinking as he walked along the path about the God he knew and this latest call? How did they reconcile to each other? When he told Isaac that God would provide, was that something he knew in his heart or was it something he said out loud to comfort his son (and himself).
As we all know, God did provide a Lamb. And Abraham praised him for the gift. I believe that in Abraham's heart he was also praising him because the God he knew, the God he loved showed up and delivered. I believe his praise going forward would never be the same because his God experience had forever changed. God does test our faith. He does ask us to walk some paths that are overwhelmingly hard. But when we come through on the other side, we will praise him all the more.