Jehovah Jireh: God's Provision

Do you ever just listen to a song and it hits you differently? Sometimes it is one on your playlist or the radio that you have listened to several times, but this time…something catches you off guard. Something you haven’t realized before. What’s even better is when it leads us to God’s Word and we then have it happen again in a more powerful sense with the Word. It is living! 

Well, needless to say, this happened to me the other day with the song “Jiireh” by Maverick City. It started playing and I was taken back to the first time I heard it at a Zoweh women’s retreat with a group of sweet ladies. It was a weekend of deep diving into our hearts to heal and I was so overwhelmed that I didn’t really listen to all the lyrics, but knew I liked the song. 

The part that got me was “Wasn’t holding you up, so there’s nothing I can do to let you down…I’ve never been more loved than I am right now”

Wow. What a beautiful concept! I am not holding God up on his throne. Nothing I can do is going to make him less sovereign or powerful or less of God. And he loves me completely and more fully than I can even imagine right now and that won’t change. 

As I said, it led me to scripture. I wanted to know the origin of the name Jehovah Jireh. It comes from Genesis 22, when God provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice in place of Isaac, his son. Abraham had faith that God was going to provide for him and keep his promise. In Genesis 22:8 we read, “Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” and they continued up the mountain to make the sacrifice. He even went so far as to bind Isaac and pick up the knife to slaughter his son, but an angel of the Lord called out to him and stopped him. There was a ram caught in the thicket and he took it and offered it to God in place of Isaac. In verse 14 it tells us “So Abraham called the name of the place “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, :On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided”

Jehovah Jireh is “the Lord will provide”. It is one of the beautiful names we see given to God that describes his character. It signifies that God is a proactive provider who is aware of our needs and will provide them in His own way and His own time. His perfect time and His perfect way. 

This song also led me to a new testament verse about the same thing. In Matthew 6 we read about the birds of the air and the lilies of the field that are provided for by God. Verse 28-29 says, “And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.”

It goes on to mention the grass that is thrown into the fire and he takes care of it. Doesn’t he love us more than lilies and sparrows and grass? He is a provider. We can see it again and again in scripture. So how do we trust him enough to do so in our lives? 

Here are a few ways we can practice trusting him as our Jehovah Jireh:

1. Seek the Lord in our need.

He knows your need, but giving it to Him and seeking Him out connects us to the Lord and allows us to start the process of trusting him.

2. Know that He will never lead you astray. 

Just like in the story of Abraham we have to remember that he isn’t going to break His promise to provide or lead us to do something that will make us resent Him. He will be faithful. 

3. Remember.

Remember the times he has provided for you in the past. If He has done it before, He will do it again. 

4. Follow the instructions that God gives you. 

Has he led you to a verse that points out a hard truth in your life? Has he provided a group of friends that are speaking into you to make change? These are some ways he is instructing you to go a certain way. His way. And we all know His way is better!

5. Trust and believe. 

Expect to see God at work. Stay in prayer with Him and wait for His work to happen. His work happens on His time - not ours. So keep our heart and eyes open for that promise of God's provision to come even in the strangest of ways. 

Sisters, waiting for God is hard. But rest in His love while you are waiting. Remember that He loves you more than you can ever imagine and wants you to depend on Him for all things. When we are in the middle of a troublesome time we need to step back and ask ourselves if we have been trying to muscle through it on our own or have we been in tune with our Jehovah Jireh. 

Lord, thank you for being that provider that we need. Help us to always seek you out for our needs both great and small. We know you hear our prayers and petitions. We know you love us in the most perfect way. Let us strengthen our faith in that knowledge. Amen.