The God who Provides
The God Who Provides
Genesis 21-25
“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.’”
Is God no better than the gods of the Canaanites who demand human sacrifices before they would bless their followers? The joy that Abraham felt at the birth of Isaac was soon shattered by the confusion of God’s command. God commanded Abraham to take his only son, the son of the promise, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering. This demand, parallel with the bloodthirsty gods of the Canaanites, could have sent Abraham spiraling downward in a crisis of faith. Isaac was more than just a son; he was the promised seed, the one through whom God promised Abraham that He would make a great nation. This demand of God would strike to the core of Abraham’s faith and challenge everything he believed about God.
As we read this autobiography of God, we are suddenly confronted with what we believe as well. Is God the one who takes pleasure in our pain and must be appeased by our suffering? Is God the destroyer of our desires and dreams? Is He so demanding that we must suffer unimaginable agony to gain His favor? Everything we have read about God suddenly is put to the test. Can we still trust in God when He seems to undermine all our desires and dreams? Does our faith remain unshakable when God does the unexpected and life becomes confusing and foreboding? Can we trust God for the future when the future becomes ominous? It is one thing to trust in God to do the impossible, but it is quite another thing to trust God when he does the unthinkable.
These questions must have been going through Abraham’s mind as he and his son walked side by side towards the mountain where he was being asked to sacrifice Isaac. However, with each step, his faith did not falter; instead, it grew in his trust in God’s plan. Isaac was the promised seed, the child through whom God had promised He would create a great nation. For Abraham, the word of God was enough. He did not know why God made such a demand or how God would still fulfill the promise through Isaac. However, Abraham still trusted that God would provide, bring Isaac back to life and that the promise would remain true. We see the hint of this faith when Abraham said to the servant, “I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you” (22:5). Likewise, he affirmed to Isaiah that “God will provide for Himself the lamb” (vs 8). Abraham trusted in the promise of God despite the confusion of the request.
This is the same faith we find in the servant when he was tasked to find a bride for Isaac. Faced with what seemed to be an impossible task, he also trusted in God to provide. Instead of relying upon his intuition and choice, he surrendered to God’s plan. When Rebekah was confronted with the decision to leave her family to go to a land she did not know and marry a man she had never met, she surrendered to God’s will and purpose.
These stories are not just stories about the faith of Abraham, his servant, and Rebekah; it is a revelation into the character and work of God. God is a God who provides, but His provision often comes in ways that we do not expect or anticipate. God frequently takes us from the realm of the safe and the known into the realm of the unknown to position us to experience His blessing. When life does not go according to plan, when our future becomes uncertain and unpredictable, faith is the realization that God’s unseen hand is orchestrating all things to position us in the place of His purpose and blessing. Faith is not trusting God to give us what we want. Faith is trusting in God when He gives us what we do not expect or desire to achieve a purpose that is far greater than we could imagine.
Genesis 21-25
“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.’”
Is God no better than the gods of the Canaanites who demand human sacrifices before they would bless their followers? The joy that Abraham felt at the birth of Isaac was soon shattered by the confusion of God’s command. God commanded Abraham to take his only son, the son of the promise, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him as a burnt offering. This demand, parallel with the bloodthirsty gods of the Canaanites, could have sent Abraham spiraling downward in a crisis of faith. Isaac was more than just a son; he was the promised seed, the one through whom God promised Abraham that He would make a great nation. This demand of God would strike to the core of Abraham’s faith and challenge everything he believed about God.
As we read this autobiography of God, we are suddenly confronted with what we believe as well. Is God the one who takes pleasure in our pain and must be appeased by our suffering? Is God the destroyer of our desires and dreams? Is He so demanding that we must suffer unimaginable agony to gain His favor? Everything we have read about God suddenly is put to the test. Can we still trust in God when He seems to undermine all our desires and dreams? Does our faith remain unshakable when God does the unexpected and life becomes confusing and foreboding? Can we trust God for the future when the future becomes ominous? It is one thing to trust in God to do the impossible, but it is quite another thing to trust God when he does the unthinkable.
These questions must have been going through Abraham’s mind as he and his son walked side by side towards the mountain where he was being asked to sacrifice Isaac. However, with each step, his faith did not falter; instead, it grew in his trust in God’s plan. Isaac was the promised seed, the child through whom God had promised He would create a great nation. For Abraham, the word of God was enough. He did not know why God made such a demand or how God would still fulfill the promise through Isaac. However, Abraham still trusted that God would provide, bring Isaac back to life and that the promise would remain true. We see the hint of this faith when Abraham said to the servant, “I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you” (22:5). Likewise, he affirmed to Isaiah that “God will provide for Himself the lamb” (vs 8). Abraham trusted in the promise of God despite the confusion of the request.
This is the same faith we find in the servant when he was tasked to find a bride for Isaac. Faced with what seemed to be an impossible task, he also trusted in God to provide. Instead of relying upon his intuition and choice, he surrendered to God’s plan. When Rebekah was confronted with the decision to leave her family to go to a land she did not know and marry a man she had never met, she surrendered to God’s will and purpose.
These stories are not just stories about the faith of Abraham, his servant, and Rebekah; it is a revelation into the character and work of God. God is a God who provides, but His provision often comes in ways that we do not expect or anticipate. God frequently takes us from the realm of the safe and the known into the realm of the unknown to position us to experience His blessing. When life does not go according to plan, when our future becomes uncertain and unpredictable, faith is the realization that God’s unseen hand is orchestrating all things to position us in the place of His purpose and blessing. Faith is not trusting God to give us what we want. Faith is trusting in God when He gives us what we do not expect or desire to achieve a purpose that is far greater than we could imagine.
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