In my resolution to improve my relationship with the Lord this year I thought it would be really cool to look at all his different names. I know about a handful of them and their meanings but have never really concentrated on them. I am hoping to look at a different name of God each week this year, in an effort to really know God for who he is!
One of my all time favorite names for the God...
Jehovah Jireh- The Lord will provide
Passages that come to mind when thinking of Jehovah Jireh would be...
1. The Children of Israel, who were wandering in the dessert, grumbling about not having any food, and God(Jehovah Jireh) sent them Manna; literally food falling from Heaven. It can't get too much more obvious than that.
2. When Abraham is just about to offer his son, who was promised to be the father of many nations; yet was not of age to even have one child, as a sacrifice because God had asked him to. In the bravest act of obedience, a ram appears, caught in a thicket and is a replacement sacrifice for Isaac. If that isn't an amazing picture of the wonderful saving grace of Jesus I don't know what is. I wonder who provided that lamb?
3. Obviously The Lord who provides the ultimate need of all mankind, The Lamb, The Atonement, The Savior of the world. Wow.
As well as countless times in the new and Old Testament that God supplies the needs of his people.
Sometimes I forget that The Lord, My provider, cares to provide even for the littlest of my needs, even my wants.
We all have needs, some greater than others, and my heart breaks when I see those around me whose needs are great but they are looking for provisions in all the wrong places. I really am not sure how we would make it through life if we did not have Jehovah Jireh as our source of provision.
Most months after our Tithe and rent are paid there is little to nothing left for groceries or utility bills and we have 6(soon to be 7) mouths to feed and bathe. Sometimes I think the Lord is crazy for adding another one to our family! However, Jehovah Jireh, always provides for our needs. Even when we don't know where it will come from or how it will happen, it always shows up.Month after month, all the bills get paid and all the mouths get fed. To think that I still stress over it, I should know by now that he is faithful, when we are faithful, and he will always provide. Even when we act like the children of Israel and grumble because the Manna from heaven isn't good enough, he provides quail. I literally used to think my husband was crazy when he would pray specifically for something he wanted. I would actually get angry sometimes, thinking "where do you think that is possibly going to come from when I am worried about putting food on the table this week". Yet it NEVER fails, the very thing he asked God for will show up in the mail from a random place, a check for the exact amount I needed for my grocery budget and the exact cost of what he wanted will appear in the mailbox. It used to anger me and he would say, if you had faith you'd do the same. I spend a lot of time praying for our needs to be provided, the last thing on my mind is something I want. Maybe it is a lack of faith on my part? I don't know. I can tell you countless times I have prayed "Lord it will take a miracle to pull this off. You know this unexpected expense has come up, the car broke down, the kids got sick, etc.." and he'll send the very miracle I doubted.
I find myself wondering what life would be like without Jehovah Jireh. I don't even want to think about it. All the hurt, anguish, and poverty in the world has come as a direct result of sin, and turning from Jehovah God. Some people would disagree with this, saying that there are thousands of impoverished nations who can't be helped, but I guarantee if you trace it far enough back in history it is as a direct result of that nation turning it's back on God, and sadly friends, I'm not sure America is far behind. Those nations can be helped, the answer is, and always has been, from the beginning of time Jehovah Jireh! That's the very reason we are commanded to go and tell the nations. It is not too late. If we would do what we are commanded the gospel could be spread to all nations, every tribe and every tongue. God would not give us an impossible task, but he also will not sit back and watch our disobedience forever. We have got to tell the world that there is a Provider and he wants to provide their every need.
This week as you go through your daily life, thank God each time he reveals himself as Jehovah Jireh, The Lord who provides. Thank him for electricity, clean running water, a roof over your head and pray, desperately pray, for those who aren't looking to him to provide these things.
However, don't just sit back and be thankful for him as your provider, go tell someone about how he can provide for their needs. Be Jehovah Jireh to someone who is in desperate need of a provider, and make it known that HE is the ultimate provider and he wants to provide for them. This week, show someone the same GRACE that he has given you, in an effort to know God for who he truly is Jehovah Jireh!
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