God has many different names and titles in the Bible. Each of them is just as accurate as all the rest, and it’s amazing how they all reveal beautiful characteristics of our good Father.
One such name is Jehovah Jireh, which means “the Lord, my provider.” God’s provision for His children takes on very many different appearances: provision can be physical (such as a home, a vehicle, a bill payment, clothes, food, etc.), and provision can be spiritual (like peace, joy, patience, etc.). Throughout my walk with God I have learned that relying on Him for both types of provision can be difficult, a true test of faith. Although it may seem like it’s easier to trust God to provide for you spiritually, don’t be deceived – when my heart was plagued with turmoil as a result of anxiety, it was hard to trust God to grant me peace.
I am now in a season of trusting God to meet my physical needs – namely, to provide a way for me to go to New York and Brazil to do missions work. When I felt God calling me to pursue this work in January, I knew my faith would be tested (and boy has it!). In order to strengthen my faith and remind myself of who God is and what He can do, I got a tattoo as shown in the picture above. My intentions for getting it were so that I could share with people about how great God is when they ask about it (which is often) and so that I would be able to remind myself of God’s promises when doubt might arise.
The first place the name Jehovah Jireh is mentioned in scripture is in Genesis 22 when Abraham is going to sacrifice his promised son, Isaac. If you’re unfamiliar with the story, let me set the stage for you.
Abram was a descendant of Noah. To start off his story, God tells him to take his family and leave. (Genesis 12) God doesn’t tell Abram where to go; He simply tells him to go, and that He will make a great nation out of him. This probably surprised Abram, because his wife Sarai was barren. Regardless of his circumstances, Abram obeyed God. He picked up his family and journeyed south.
God appeared to Abram several times, giving instruction and reassurance. When God brought Abram to the land God promised to give to Abram’s descendants (despite his current lack of offspring), Abram built an altar unto the Lord and named it “Bethel,” which means “house of God.”
Abram continued to seek the Lord and obey His voice for many years. At this point Abram was 99 years old while Sarai was 90 years old, still with no children. God appeared to Abram and changed his name to Abraham, which means “father of many,” and changed Sarai’s name to Sarah, which means “princess of many.” (Genesis 17)
Their promise from God still was not fulfilled until the next year, when Sarah finally gave birth to their first son, Isaac. (Genesis 22) You can imagine how much Abraham loved Isaac – he had been patiently waiting for this promised child of God for decades! I bet there was a lot of rejoicing following Isaac’s birth.
But the story doesn’t stop there. In Chapter 22, God does the unthinkable: He tells Abraham to take his one and only beloved son and sacrifice him on the mountain. After the long life of obedience and finally seeing his promise of a son fulfilled, Abraham was being asked to kill his own son and give him back to God. I can’t even imagine the war that exploded in Abraham’s heart at that point. He was probably thinking something along the lines of this:
“But, Father! You promised me this boy! You said you would make me the father of many nations! I love my son! How could I possibly take the precious life You just gave me??”
Surprisingly, the Bible doesn’t tell us what went on in Abraham’s mind. The very next verse after God gives Abraham instructions to sacrifice Isaac says that Abraham got up the next morning and prepared all of his things to go to “the place of which God had told him.” (vs. 3)
Talk about an obedient heart! If God asked me to sacrifice my little brother, I’m afraid my feet wouldn’t move. I can’t even imagine being told to sacrifice my only child. Yet Abraham did not idolize Isaac – he still loved and honored the Lord above all else. Why? Because he trusted God. Because God is good. Because God keeps His promises. Even though circumstances seemed bleak, Abraham kept a firm grasp of who God was, is, and always will be.
I can imagine that during the long walk up the mountain, Abraham was probably under serious spiritual warfare in the battlefield of the mind. The enemy more than likely hit him with thoughts of doubt, trying to convince Abraham that God did not love him or that obeying God this one time wasn’t that important. Abraham probably soaked up every sight, sound, and smell of Isaac as he could, trying to engrave every detail about his beloved child into his memory.
Amidst this inner turmoil (and probably fighting a lump in his throat), Abraham had to answer a question that proved the state of his heart. On the way up the mountain with the wood and the knife, Isaac looks up to his daddy and asks, “Where is the lamb for the offering?”
Can you imagine fighting back tears and trying to be strong enough to attempt to answer a question like that? Abraham responded wisely, in faith,
“My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt-offering.”
Abraham reminded himself and his son that God will provide, He will keep His promise. In the eyes of man, this looked like a hopeless situation, but God had everything in control.
Abraham goes through the motions and sets everything up for the offering: the altar is built, the wood is stacked, and Isaac is bound and laid on the altar. Abraham stretches back his hand holding the knife, preparing to sacrifice his son, when suddenly the angel of the Lord stops him. The angel says, “Don’t do anything to your son – now I know that you fear God because you did not withhold your only son from Me.”
In relief (probably with his face covered in grateful tears), Abraham looks up and finds a ram caught in a bush nearby, the ram God provided to be the sacrifice.
Verse 13 says, “And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-Jireh.”
The angel appeared to Abraham again and told him that since he did not withhold his only son from God, God will bless him and multiply his seed as the stars of the heaven and the sand on the sea shore.
Wow. What obedience. What trust in the Lord. What faithfulness.
As 1 Samuel 15:22 says, “Obedience is better than sacrifice.” Abraham’s story reiterates the truthfulness of that statement. I pray that, through this season in my life, God will give me the strength to obey Him.
When this journey towards missions began, I told God, “You know, I say that I trust You all the time. But do I?” God has been testing that statement, and revealing to me the true state of my heart. Right now, through worldly eyes, my situation looks pretty hopeless. I have mounting bills, responsibilities, and loose ends that only God can tie up in order for me to be able to dive into mission work this summer. But you know what? There’s a reminder on my right arm that tells me that:
- God has a plan.
- God is trustworthy.
- God desires obedience.
- Obedience is an expression of faith.
- God is an on-time God.
- God’s will is perfect.
- God is my provider.
So I welcome you to see what God is calling you to do for Him. Are you obeying? Are you listening to the enemy’s seeds of doubt? Do you trust who God says He is? Are you reminding yourself of all God has done for you? Do you have faith in His plan? And do you believe that He is your provider?
“I am the Lord, I’m the Almighty God | I am the One for whom nothing is too hard | I am the Shepherd and I am the Door | I am the Good News to the bound and the poor
I am the righteous One and I am the Lamb | I am the Ram in the bush for Abraham | I am the Ultimate Sacrifice for sin | I am your Redeemer, the Beginning and the End
I am Jehovah, and I am your King | I am Messiah, David’s Offspring | I am your High Priest, and I am the Christ | I am the Resurrection, I am the Life
I am the Bread, and I am the Wine | I am your Future, so leave your past behind | I am the One in the midst of two or three | I am your Tabernacle, I am your Jubilee
I am hope, I am peace, I am joy, I am rest | I am your comfort and release from your stress | I am strength, I am faith, I am love, I am power | I am your freedom this very hour | I AM.”
– “I Am” by Eddie James
