Jehovah-jireh

"Jehovah-jireh" means "The God who provides," in Hebrew. We first see this name given to God in Genesis, chapter 22.

God asks Abraham to present his only son to Him as a sacrifice, to show his fear and respect for The Lord. Abraham knows he can always trust God no matter how crazy it seems, and follows through, only to be interrupted just as he is about to kill his son, by an angel of The Lord.

In verses 12 and 13 the angel says to Abraham, "'Do not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.'

Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son."

The Bible says Abraham called the place "The Lord will Provide," thereafter.

In Exodus chapter 16, "Jehovah-jireh" provides a bread-like "manna" (which in Hebrew, loosely translates to, "What is this?") and quail for the Israelites to eat when they are stranded in the desert. God provided them with just enough; no more, no less. He even instructed Moses to tell his people not to try and store up extra, and turned it to rot when they did.

Over the last couple years, God has proved Himself "Jehovah-jireh" for our family. Those of you close to us know my dad has been out of work for a couple years, now. He's taken odd jobs and somehow through God's goodness, my parents have always ended up with just enough to get by.

Lately, my dad has been building various types of furniture; dressers, end tables, bedroom sets, etc. here in our garage, and selling them on Craigslist. He isn't making much off of them, but he always seems to be able to sell them just in time to make the house payment. God has provided just enough to get by.

Today a random check we didn't know was coming, arrived. It payed for groceries for the week! Little things like that keep happening and I believe they are God's way of giving us exactly what we need to get by and nothing more.

My parents might as well rename their home, "The Lord will Provide."

What should you rename, "The Lord will Provide" in your life, to give God the glory and credit He deserves?

Justin