Sunday, October 28, 2018

The God Who Sees and Provides

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“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 Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.”

Genesis 22:12–14

When God commanded Abraham to travel to Mt. Moriah and offer Isaac as a sacrifice, it was an ultimate test of faith. Isaac was the son of promise—a promise which Abraham waited decades to see fulfilled—and the hope that Abraham had for the future. Yet without hesitation or argument, he took his beloved son and made the trip to the place God told him to go. There he prepared the altar and was ready to take Isaac’s life when in a beautiful picture of Jesus and our salvation, God provided a ram to be the sacrifice in his place, and Isaac’s life was spared.

There the joyous Abraham used a new name for God, Jehovah-jireh. This compound word means not only that God sees our needs, but that He also provides for them. It would be little comfort to only have a God who was aware of our problems but either lacked the ability or the compassion to do something about them. Instead, we are blessed to have an all-powerful Father who loves us beyond our comprehension. That is why we can confidently expect God’s help when we face difficulties. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Today’s Growth Principle: 

God invites us to come to Him in faith and ask for help with our needs and burdens.