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The Lord is your PROVIDER.
If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters -- yes, more than your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26)
This is one of those "tough" scriptures. It can be hard to comprehend for many people. But we are talking about God being our provider. I think this scripture relates here. The question becomes, "Who do we trust more as to provide what we need, the people listed in that verse -- or God?
Let's look at Jehovah Jireh, "The Lord Will Provide".When we pray to God Who Provides we are praying to the God who sees our situation beforehand and is able to provide for the needs He knows we have, even before we see the need ourselves. In fact, one way of translating Jehovah Jireh is "The Lord Will See". In this context that would mean He will "see to it" that we are provided for. But, we have to recognize that what God sees, how God provides, and when He does it does not always line up with our expectations. Let's look at a few aspects of God the Provider.
1. God's PROMISE
Hebrews 11:8-12 retells the story of Abraham and the promise God gave Abraham concerning a son and an inheritance. The whole story can be found in the mid section of the book of Genesis. The one fact that should jump out at us is the timeframe. Did you know that there was a 25 year gap between God's promise to Abraham and its fulfillment with Isaac? I wonder if Abraham ever doubted God would keep His promise. Actually, we know he did sometimes doubt. That is how Hagar and Ishmael came into the picture.
Do you truly believe God will keep His promises to you? Hard to do when the answer seems too long in coming, ain't it? We have to remember, though, that God is not defined by time as we keep it.
2. Abraham's PREPARATION
Part of God's seeming delay in keeping His promise to Abraham was likely to prepare Abraham to receive the promise.Just because we have been promised something doesn't always mean we are ready to receive, and utilize it properly.
Think of it this way. Let's say your Dad has this beautiful old roadster. Maybe it's a 1927 Stutz Bearcat, or something similar. As long as you can remember he has been promising that someday it will be yours. You fully expect that when you turn 16 that he will give you the keys for your birthday. But, that day comes and -- no keys! Has he broken his promise? No. But he waits. Hardly ever even speaks to you about the car. Maybe he forgot his promise? No. One day, years later, he shows up at the hospital to congratulate you on the birth of your first child. Then, out of no where he hands you the keys. Why then? Why not earlier, when you turned 16? Or maybe when you went to college? We all know why, don't we? I don't even have to explain. We weren't ready for the gift then. We would not have been able to appreciate it. But now, when we have someone we can promise it to too, the time is right.
It is that way with God's promise to Abraham, and His promises to us. He has to make sure we are ready.
In Genesis 22 we are given the story of God's test of Abraham concerning Isaac. It is a familiar story. God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on an altar. Would he be willing to do it? Is Abraham going to be more focused on the provision or the Provider?
Where would our focus be? How do we respond when God tests our faith and obedience to Him? In verse 5 of Genesis 22 we see Abraham' s response, "And Abraham said to his two young men, 'Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you." Did you catch that? WE will come back to you. God delayed fulfilling His promise to Abraham so Abraham would be more focused on Him, the Provider, than it, the provision.
3. The PROVISION and the PROVIDER
The remainder of the story relates Abraham's reliance on God to provide a suitable sacrifice. If you think about it, it also relates the amazing faith Isaac had in both his Dad and God. The version I quoted above calls Isaac a "lad". But evidence suggests he was about 30 (which would be a lad to a Dad who is over 100). He allows himself to be tied up, then gets up on the altar, and watches as Abraham raises the knife. Are we willing to trust God to provide for us even when circumstances seem impossible?
I had a great job on the staff at a church in Florida. Loved the job, loved the church, loved the people, loved my boss. I loved the position, sort of the #2 man. Never really have had much desire to be "the man". I liked being an associate. Then God began to lay a vision on my heart for Destination God. He didn't give me much detail, just a thought. In fact, it has only been this past weekend that I have heard any clarification since the original impression, which came about 9 months before.
Kind of like Abraham, I began to assume I knew what God wanted me to do with that idea. I assumed it to be an alternative serice within our church, maybe about a year or so down the road. But that wasn't what God wanted. In order for me to be willing to accept what God wanted for me, He had to test me. For several months I had been feeling increasingly uneasy about things at the church where we served. Nothing bad was happening, I just began to feel unsettled. Then I went to a conference to learn more of what I would need to know to pursue the vision God gave me. It was there I ran into Randal, my friend of 15 years. He shared his vision for a church plant in the Atlanta area. We knew immediately we were supposed to move to Georgia to help him. Randal's vision is NOT the same as the one for Destination God, although they are similar and certainly complimentary.
While I couldn't at the time understand the uneasiness I was feeling in Florida, now I do. God had to prepare me and Karen to be willing to leave when He called us to. Without the 16 or so months of unsettledness, we might not have been open to the idea of moving back to Georgia.
I assume it was "deadly" quiet on that mountain with Abraham and Isaac. I think neither of them is saying a word. I bet they are even breathing quietly. Why? Because they were listening for the sound of a proper sacrifice caught in the woods. They certainly didn't want to be making so much noise that they missed it when God sent the answer.
How about us? Are we making too much "noise" to hear God sending the answer? Are we so bothered by the circumstances that we can't respond when God keeps His promise? When we put something on the "altar", sacrificing it to God, we acknowledge that He is God and that we are putting our faith in Him so we can experience His provision in our lives.
By the way, Dad, if you happen to have a beautiful old roadster like the one in my story ... I'M READY!!!!! (And, no, that doesn't mean Karen and I have had a baby, smartalecks.)
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