This issue looks at Jehovah-Jireh-The Lord Will Provide.
SINCE YOU ASKED
While the Lord’s “official’ name is Jehovah, various aspects of His character are described by adding selected explanatory words. All of these compound names came about as some Bible figure discovered something powerful and unique about Jehovah. “Jehovah-Jireh,” for example, was a name Abraham gave to God as he was about to sacrifice his son, Isaac. (See Genesis 22.) Abraham had faith that his God would provide in some way, even if it was bringing Isaac back from the dead. God’s method was to provide a lamb that would become Isaac’s substitute. Abraham saw God in a new light. His knowledge of his God soared to new heights as he witnessed how Jehovah saw and provided for the needs of His people. Abraham called God “Jehovah-Jireh”-the Lord will see, or the Lord will provide. God wanted to be seen as Jehovah Jireh because He wanted His people to understand that He sees our need and He will provide.

AS I SEE IT
Why do we have so much trouble seeing God this way? We know that He cares for us more than the birds of the air, which He takes care of. He wants us to see Him (Jesus) as our good shepherd, who has promised to take care of His sheep. We also know that He is the original Promise Keeper. Why then, do we get so concerned and bent out of shape when the things we relied on are no longer reliable? It’s probably because we were relying on something other than Him. Too often, we turn to Him as a last resort when all else has failed. The problem may also be that we have been focusing on our wants, where He is concerned with our needs. It’s also probable that we have a faith problem-we really don’t know God well enough to fully trust Him with what concerns us.
 
It’s a shame that so few Christians have never shared in Abraham’s discovery. We trust God to save our souls in the future while failing to allow Him to carry our burdens now. He’s waiting with outstretched arms, ready to take the loads we were never meant to carry, but we stubbornly refuse His help. It’s like the hitchhiker with a heavy backpack who stood by the road, hoping for a ride. When given a lift by a farmer in a pickup truck, he climbs into the truck bed, but keeps his backpack on. For thirty miles he remains bent over under the load. Upon arriving at the next town, the farmer asks why he never took the pack off. He responds, “It was really kind of you to give me a lift, but I couldn’t think of asking you to carry my pack, too.”
 
As stupid as this is, it’s exactly what we do every day when we fail to give God our burdens, especially those that involve a need on some kind. We hop into God’s pickup, grateful for our salvation, but insistent on carrying the burdens of our everyday needs. God wants to become our Jehovah-Jireh. He sees our needs and He is ready, willing, and able to provide for them…if we will just let Him.

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