Provision
A.W. Tozer famously wrote, “What comes to mind when you think about God is the most important thing about you.” A powerful statement that can take one’s breath away in awe or instill a sense of deep concern.
What DO I think about God?
In a cultural and historical moment often defined by self-reliance, self-help, and self-centeredness, one could see how easy it is to feel drawn to a world where God is distant and we, as our own gods, are in charge of our own desires and the fulfillment of our own destiny. It is hard to experience a sense of gratitude or thanksgiving beyond what we have created for ourselves. Yet, to the Christian, our authentic identity is centered on both the “what” about God – what He did in Creation and Redemption – and also the “who” – who He is as revealed to us in His word. That identity is planted in a God-centered gratitude.
While we often consider our personal blessings as a focus for thanksgiving to God, I think it is a helpful exercise to explore the “who” behind those blessings! In fact, an exploration of the names of God in the Old Testament makes our God so much bigger, more mighty, and more loving than we may have ever known before. His names reveal who He is to us in His character. And when we know Him better, we love Him more. After all, we love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19), and as our love grows so does our thanks and praise.
As I center my heart in gratitude for the Lord, the name of God that speaks most intensely to me is Jehovah Jireh, or “the Lord will provide.” Genesis 22 is an account that many of us may recall as children: the story of God commanding Abraham to take Isaac, the son God promised to him and Sarah in their old age (Gen 15:4, Gen 18: 9-15), to the mountain to be offered as a sacrifice. As a parent of four kids, the thought is immediately terrifying. We may even be tempted to project our own protestations and emotions onto Abraham, imagining what the account does not offer to us as we read.
What we are offered, however, are not Abraham’s fears or anger at God’s request. Rather, we are told of Abraham’s faithful obedience to the Lord’s command and also his faith in God’s provision. In Genesis 22:7-8, as Abraham prepares the altar for the burnt offering, Isaac asks his father, where is the sacrifice? Abraham’s response sets my heart ablaze in adoration for his faith: “God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” (Gen 22:8 ESV) Abraham placed his trust in God’s provision for the sacrifice that was to be made.
Before striking the fatal blow to his own son, God calls out to Abraham to halt the sacrifice of his only son whom he so willingly brought to the Lord as He commanded. Instead, God provides for Himself the sacrifice to be made on the altar: a ram caught in the thicket. (v.13) In his worship and memorialization of God’s provision, Abraham names the place Jehovah Jireh,“the Lord will provide.”
And has He not provided for us, His chosen people as well? No matter what we are going through, our hearts should be built as an altar to the Lord as a place of worship and thanksgiving for His loving provision! While the blessings of the world He has given us abound and also differ in the lives of His believers, we should all have immense gratitude for three specific provisions irrespective of the circumstances of our lives.
First, as God provides the ram as the substitutionary sacrifice to Abraham in place of his only son Isaac, God provides for us the perfect substitutionary atoning sacrifice for our sins – His only Son, Jesus. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1: 29). This is the bedrock of our joy by which we count ourselves blessed as the trials of life produce our steadfastness in our faith! (James 1:2-4)
Second, God has provided His Word breathed out and filled with the truth by which we live our lives. As 2 Timothy 3:16-17 states,“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” We have a cornerstone by which we can build our lives on, God’s wisdom to help us train our minds and guide our hearts in a world full of uncertainty, and a loving Lord speaking directly to us by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Third, God has provided all of us with the invitation to know him personally and in connection with a body of believers, the Church, with whom we experience fellowship, worship, and sharpen ourselves in discipleship as we live out our faith and share it with others. Whatever you are going through today – a trial, a season of loneliness, illness – the Lord our God is providing for you, and for me. He is Jehovah Jireh, and we can give thanks with grateful hearts every single day of our lives. I pray that we all would all have ears to hear, eyes to see, and a Spirit to discern all of the ways in which He is providing in our lives every single day!
Take heart and have joy, He has you in His hands and will provide for Himself with love, goodness, and faithfulness.
KB