DIVINE PROVISION | DAILY BIBLE DEVOTIONAL

“So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided’.” — GENESIS 22:14

Sometimes we’ll talk about our difficult situations and may say rather glibly, “Well, the Lord will provide.” The idea is that we’ll do our best and God will do the rest. That may be, but the name ‘Jehovah-Jireh’, (which means the Lord will provide), and the discovery of the Lord’s provision comes in Scripture at the end of a very exacting and demanding story.

God said to Abraham, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about” (Genesis 22:2). This is a critical point in Abraham’s life. God had promised Abraham that through his descendents would come a nation, and from that nation, the ‘Seed’ that would bless the world. Now God is telling him to take the only one who is indispensable to the fulfillment of those promises, and put a knife through it all.  

Following the guidance of God is not the smooth sailing journey we would like it to be. Emotionally, Abraham’s situation is excruciating. Intellectually and spiritually, it’s extremely confusing as it is in direct conflict with everything God has promised. It’s when faced with a combination of contradictory factors that we understandably stumble and fall. We begin by stepping out in obedience, and immediately an obstacle blocks our way. The issue then becomes do we trust God beyond the ambiguities and confusion?

On the way up the mountain, Isaac asks his father, “The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son” (Genesis 22:7-8). At this point, Abraham has only one way out and that is for God to provide. With his son bound on the altar and the knife in Abraham’s hand, God intervened and stopped him. “Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by his horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son” (Genesis 22:13).

It wasn’t back in Beersheba, but on the mountain, the final destination, where Abraham experienced ‘Jehovah-Jireh’. His faith was not a reckless abandonment to some irrational behaviour, but a calculated trust made in a situation of utter confusion and perplexity. Unbelief will waver, but an abiding trust in God will hold onto what He has said. No matter how trying or contrary to human reasoning our situations may be, it’s when we climb that mountain with absolute trust in God that we experience His divine provision.

Dear Lord, When faced with situations that seem impossible to me, help me to remain steadfast in You and depend upon your provision to see me through. Thank You, Lord.

Am I dependent upon God for His provision in difficult times?