God Our Provider Series

Opening Analogy

Imagine hiking in a mountain range you have never visited before. At the beginning of the hike everything feels simple. The path is clear, the sky is open, and you can see exactly where you are going. But the deeper you walk into the mountain, the landscape changes. The path becomes steeper, the trees grow thicker, and slowly the fog begins to roll in. Suddenly you cannot see very far anymore. The distance disappears. All you can see is the next few steps in front of you.

And when that happens something interesting begins to appear on the trail. Small markers. Sometimes it is a painted rock. Sometimes it is a wooden post with an arrow. Sometimes it is a ribbon tied to a branch. These markers are there to guide hikers through the fog. But here is the important part.

Those markers were not placed when the fog arrived. They were placed long before you ever started the hike. Someone who knew the mountain walked the trail beforehand and prepared the path so that when people reached the difficult parts, they would not get lost. Life often feels like walking into fog.

There are moments when we cannot see what is ahead. We do not know how situations will unfold. We wonder how things will work out. And in those moments we can easily begin to worry. But one of the most powerful truths revealed in Scripture is this: God is already ahead of us. He sees the path before we walk it. He knows the need before we experience it.

And He prepares provision before we arrive. That is why Abraham declared: “The Lord Will Provide.”

Introduction: Understanding the Nature of God as Provider

One of the ways God reveals Himself in Scripture is through names. Each name of God reveals something about His character. For example:

some names reveal His holiness

• some reveal His authority

• some reveal His power.

But one of the most personal names God reveals is Jehovah Jireh — The Lord Will Provide. This name tells us something very important about who God is. Provision is not just something God does occasionally. Provision is something that flows from His nature. From the very beginning of the Bible we see this pattern. In the opening chapters of Genesis, God creates the world. Before human beings even appear on the earth, God prepares everything they will need. He creates light. He creates land and water. He fills the earth with vegetation and animals. Only after everything is prepared does God create humanity. This tells us something powerful:

God provides before the need even appears. He prepares the environment before placing His people in it. Throughout Scripture this pattern continues. When God leads His people into the wilderness, He provides manna from heaven. When Elijah faces a drought, God provides food through ravens. When Abraham reaches the mountain of sacrifice, God provides the ram. Over and over again the Bible reveals the same truth: God is a God who provides.

But often the way God provides is not what we expect. Sometimes it comes later than we hoped. Sometimes it comes in ways we never imagined. And sometimes God allows us to walk far enough into the situation that we must fully trust Him.

That is exactly what we see in the story of Abraham. We read this story in Genesis? ?22?:?1?-?8? ?AMP ????????????

“Now after these things, God tested [the faith and commitment of] Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he answered, “Here I am.” God said, “Take now your son, your only son [of promise], whom you love, Isaac, and go to the region of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham got up early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him and his son Isaac; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and then he got up and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day [of travel] Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. Abraham said to his servants, “Settle down and stay here with the donkey; the young man and I will go over there and worship [God], and we will come back to you.” [Heb 11:17-19] Then Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on [the shoulders of] Isaac his son, and he took the fire (firepot) in his own hand and the [sacrificial] knife; and the two of them walked on together. And Isaac said to Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Isaac said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself a lamb for the burnt offering.” So the two walked on together.”