Another wonderful blessing of having our God as our heavenly Father is that He promises to be my provider. The first thing to recognise here is that, if I am a child of God, ‘my provider’ is never short of anything that I need. That in itself is worth at least a day’s thanksgiving!!!
Secondly everything that I need is now mine. It is paid for because I am now ‘in Christ’ and I now stand before God as a joint heir with Him, and ‘how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?’ Romans 8:32. Moreover unlike our gas and electricity charges, the tariff is not going to change, it has all been prepaid, and not by us. Giving thanks for this amazing truth enables me to receive this blessing and live day by day enjoying the benefits of all that Christ has won for me
The name of God, Jehovah-Jireh, that we quote when thinking about God’s provision for us, was of course given to Abraham at a point in His life when he was going to demonstrate his faith in God by literally, physically sacrificing his only son, his son of promise. God steps in and ‘provides’ a ram for the sacrifice, so that Isaac is spared, Genesis 22:13,14, and Abraham calls that place ‘The Lord will provide’.
It seems to me that this indicates that God will provide all that I need to serve Him, or all that I need as His child to honour Him. It is not about Him giving us free handouts to satisfy our every whim even if we are living independent lives outside of His will for us. Nor does He give us excessive amounts of provision to bank, like a win on the lottery, so that we could say once and for all ‘I am provided for’. God’s provision comes in the context of our relationship with Him and is an ongoing daily experience for us, keeping us close to His heart.
We see this in the story Jesus told about the prodigal son. Luke 19:11-32. When the son was given his inheritance in one lump sum, he left his father house, went astray, and lost it all. Although he is in need, the Father does not go running to him with more funds. In the middle section of the story the son experiences unmet need, the father is no longer ‘providing ‘for him. However when he comes back into relationship with the father through remorse and repentance – when relationship is restored – then the father again blesses and provides for him with a great celebration.
Another verse that we love to quote is Psalm 23:1, ‘The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want….’ This is then followed by all the wonderful ways in which the Lord, our Shepherd, does indeed provide and look after us. I think that sometimes we miss the powerful declaration that is made at the beginning of this psalm, which could in fact be written with the added words, ‘Because I have made the Lord my shepherd, I shall not want’.
The point I am making is this. There is no shortage of resource available to me in Christ. Father God is indeed my provider because I am ‘in Christ’ and Christ is in me. I can be full of thanks for both of those truths, but in order to be in a place where I am continually aware of, and receiving, God’s provision, I need to stand close and walk closely with Him day by day.
I will never manage to do that in my own strength, or ever be good enough to deserve this kind of favour. It is all received by faith. Staying in a place of thanksgiving as a child with my Heavenly Father, enables me to do just that, to stay in faith. Gratitude keeps me close to His heart, enabling me to see the smile on His face as He gladly releases all that I need moment by moment as we walk through life together. I can then confidently say, “This is my Jehovah-Jireh”.
I leave you today with some verses from Romans 8:16,17, from The Passion Translation, to ponder.
‘For the Holy Spirit makes God’s Fatherhood real to us as He whispers into our innermost being, “You are God’s beloved child!” And since we are His true children, we qualify to share all His treasures, for indeed we are heirs of God Himself. And since we are joined to Christ, we also inherit all that He is and all that He has. We will be co glorified with Him provided that we accept his sufferings as our own.’
