The Lord Will Provide

- Genesis 22:1-14

 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lift up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide you here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.

This passage is my all time favorite in the book of Genesis. God told Abraham to take Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice to the Lord. Abraham obeyed by faith, and just as he was about to offer his son, God stopped him. Instead of accepting Isaac as a burnt offering, God provided Abraham a ram.Then Abraham named the place Jehovah-jireh. It means "The Lord will provide." I'm sure as Abraham made his way up the mount he was at least a little fearful. Just a few chapters before this, God had made a covenant with Abraham and promised him that He would make of him a great nation through his son Isaac. And now God had asked him to sacrifice his promised son. Abraham was probably a little confused at this point. But he also had alot of faith. I love verse 7 & 8. Isaac asks his dad, "where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" And Abraham answers: "My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering:" 
Sometimes the future can be a little frightening, especially if the future we see holds alot of unknowns. I think that's why many people look ahead a few years and try to plan their own future out. But in all reality, we don't have to see the big picture or know what we're going to be doing years from now. God sees where you're at now, and He sees the big picture of your life. We don't have to fear the future, no matter how scary it is, because God is already there and He's in control. Faith can be a little hard to have, especially if things don't go the way we planned. But that's what God wants us all to have. FAITH. Simple faith that will trust Him to lead. Because, after all, He is the good shepherd and cares for each and every one of His sheep. If you're worrying all the time about the future, whether near or far, your faith in God will not grow. You have to get rid of your worries and replace it with faith. Just TRUST GOD - put one foot forward and take one step. God made you, He knows what is best for you, and He will lead you in the way and light your path.

In our pain, God sees us and is with us.
When we walk a difficult path, God sees. And He is still with us.
When the ending is not what we prayed for, God sees. And yes, He is still with us.
We can name our future and all our unexpected places "Jehovah-jireh."
What about next year? The Lord will provide.
This job didn't work out....The Lord will provide.
Serious health problems arise...The Lord will provide.

We serve a faithful God -- Jehovah-jireh, my provider. His grace is sufficient for me.

The first verse of this beautiful hymn goes along with this perfectly: 

"Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father, 

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not. 

As Thou has been, Thou forever wilt be. 

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! 

Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided--

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! "

  

Have faith in our unchanging Saviour! 

love,
Ashley 

Psalm 119:90

Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth.