How is the principle of withholding positively illustrated in Scripture? - Withholding - TouchPoints

Genesis 22:10-16Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice. At that moment the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!” “Yes,” Abraham replied. “Here I am!” “Don’t lay a hand on the boy!” the angel said. “Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.” Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” Then the angel of the Lord called again to Abraham from heaven. “This is what the Lord says: Because you have obeyed me and have not withheld even your son, your only son, I swear by my own name that I will certainly bless you.”

The more precious someone is to us, the more likely we are to protect them from anything that might injure them. Abraham faced a conflict between two precious values: his relationship with God who had been faithful for a lifetime and his precious son for whom he had waited for a lifetime. His willingness to trust God in that conflict demonstrated the genuineness of his faith.

Psalm 84:11The Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.

It is God’s deepest desire to bless his creation, and when we are intent on living with and for him, we can expect him to bring about what is best for us, even in this fallen world.