Then he said, “Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.” Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught in the thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. And Abraham named that place The Lord Will Provide…. (Genesis 22:12-14, CSB).

In Sir Patrick Stewart’s portrayal as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the Star Trek: The Next Generation series, Stewart gave us one of the most iconic Star Trek phrases of all time, “Make it so!” This catchphrase was usually used when a crew member suggested a course of action for the Starship Enterprise to avoid or confront a dangerous situation.

In the story of Abraham’s test of faith in Genesis 22 Abraham believed that God would “Make It So” on His promise to Abraham.

God told Abraham to take his son Isaac to a mountain in the land of Moriah and sacrifice him as a burnt offering (vs. 3). (Interestingly, this mountain was later the location of the Temple in Jerusalem.) As Abraham and Isaac walked up the mountain, Isaac asked his father where the sheep was to offer for the sacrifice. Abraham answered Isaac: “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son” (vs. 8).

Abraham had confidence that God would “Make it so!”

And God did….

Just as Abraham was about to plunge the knife into Isaac, an angel of the Lord called out for Abraham not to kill the boy. When Abraham looked around (and likely breathed a sigh of relief), he saw a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. Abraham took the ram that God provided and sacrificed it in place of his son Isaac.

As was common among the patriarchs, the commemorative naming of the location recalled the nature of the encounter with God. Abraham memorialized this place where his faith was tested in dramatic fashion not as “I passed the great faith test.” Rather, Abraham named the place Yahweh Yireh, “The Lord will Provide.”

Abraham’s faith test was not based on how hard he could believe but on the steadfast confidence that God will do what He promised. And, God had promised Abraham he would become a great nation through his son Isaac!

So, Abraham believed God and was willing to live out His faith. The Hebrews writer tells us that Abraham fully intended to sacrifice Isaac because “He considered God to be able even to raise someone from the dead” (Hebrews 11:19, CSB).

In other words, God “Makes It So” in our lives if we have faith in Him and His promises!

The Hebrews writer says that faith in God allows us to live out the unseen reality of God’s sovereignty in our everyday lives with the confidence that He provides for our eternal well-being in this present world and the world to come (see Hebrews 11:1).

Just as Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness (see Genesis 15:6), the Apostle Paul explains that this same principle of faith is at work in us who believe that Jesus Christ died as a sacrifice for our sins and then was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven (see Romans 4:16-24).

So, what Abraham believed about God and was willing to stake the life of his son on is the same thing we believe about God today. God will provide for us and our eternal destiny when we believe that His Son Jesus died as a sacrifice for our sins and was raised from the dead.

God “Makes It So” when, like Abraham, we live out our faith as if our eternal life depends on it….because it does!

Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works in offering Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was made complete. (James 2:21-22, CSB)