Posted on 08/20/2018 7:36:18 PM PDT by metmom
Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son. And Abraham called the name of that place The Lord Will Provide, as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it will be provided (Genesis 22:13-14).
When God provides for a believer, Hes being true to His name.
The Old Testament gives God many names, but one of the most lovely is Jehovah-Jireh, translated in verse 14 of todays passage as The Lord Will Provide. It is so much a characteristic of God that its His name. We would never question that God is love and great and mighty and holy and just and good. But some question whether God provides. They doubt and are afraid that God isnt going to meet their needs. That is exactly what the Lord speaks to in Matthew 6:25-34 when He says, in summary, Dont worry about what to eat, drink, or wear. The Lord is still Jehovah-Jireh. That is His name, and it is synonymous with one of His attributes.
God is a God who provides, and that is why David said, I have been young, and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or his descendants begging bread (Ps. 37:25). The world digs and scratches and claws to make sure it has enough. Unlike the world, your Father knows your needs, and He will always give you what you need.
You dont have to own everything, and you dont have to control everything to meet your needs. You can receive what God gives you to invest in His eternal kingdom and put away all anxiety about your needs. Worship God with your life, and rest assured in His promise to provide for you.
Suggestions for Prayer
First Timothy 6:8 says, If [you] have food and covering, with these [you] shall be content. Does contentment characterize your life? If not, confess that to the Lord, and thank Him for the many ways He so faithfully provides for you every day.
For Further Study
Read the following passages, which show Gods faithfulness to provide: Deuteronomy 2:7; 1 Kings 17:1-16; 2 Kings 4:1-7. In what different ways does He give that provision?
Studying God’s Word ping
don’t wish to be a contrarian, but what about the poor man that died outside the rich man’s place? He had sores that the dogs licked, and died of starvation I guess? Or those that die alone, destitute, of sickness etc- or ligner for years in pain/sickness/poverty and then die from such conditions?
I know the bible teaches things like ‘all things work together for good for...” and that God provides, and tells His people that He has even the hairs counted, etc but then we read about the poor man who died of neglect- of Christians who were murdered en mass by romans- Starved to death etc-
These 2 facts seem to contradict each other and I’m sure unsaved people question this for this reason. I don’t have a good answer for them-
I don’t either and I am dealing with some issues where I have the same questions.
It’s very difficult.
well do try not to get discouraged in the quest for such answers— The Evil One works hard to discourage us- to get us to doubt- - but even mustard grain sized faith will prevail- He usually strikes when we’re low spirited- I used to do a lot of discussions with anti-religious folks here on Fr, and they’d throw all kinds of hard questions out about seeming contradictions in the bible- most of their accusations were based on passages taken out of context- but every now and again there would be hard ones like God faithfully providing, but then other passages about suffering Christians - and i can see why unsaved folks would question things like that- Ijust don’t have a good answer- other than ‘God will provide in death as well’ as our hope- but of course that doesn’t satisfy the unsaved who might not understand that-
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.