2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
None of us likes to think about being dependent. We would all like to think that we can be self-sufficient. But, the truth of the matter is that we really can’t be. We need to rely on God and acknowledge his omnipotence [He is all powerful], omniscience [He is all knowing], and omnipresence [He is everywhere]. Peter and I were given an unexpected reminder of that last night when we were trying to go home after attending a party. We were on a narrow private road that was hilly, snowy, and icy. It was very dark, which meant I was unable to see anything because I suffer from night blindness. Peter was at the wheel, and I was sitting beside him. Our little car didn’t have enough momentum to make it over the crest of the hill, so it began sliding backward toward the car behind us. When it finally came to a stop, the left rear wheel was off the road. Thankfully, we didn’t hit the car behind us in which friends of ours were driving. I felt quite helpless, as Pete got out to ask for their help, and the two men pushed us with the other man’s wife steering our car until the rear wheel was back on the road. That enabled us to back up far enough to get a running start and make it over the crest of the hill. All I can say is that I realized we must have been surrounded by angels, our two friends being two of them. It is at times like these when we are made to see that God, and not mankind, is in control.
Today, we continue looking at citations that allow us to see God, as our Jehovah-Jireh, our Lord Who provides. These citations will allow us to see that we are not alone and without a Source to which we can turn when we have needs. The first two stanzas of PS 139 are very illuminating in answering the question, “Who is God?” in the context of this discussion. PS 139: 1-12, “Lord, You have examined me and You know me. You know everything I do; from far away You understand all my thoughts. You see me, whether I am working or resting; You know all my actions. Even before I speak, You already know what I will say. You are all around me on every side; You protect me with Your power. Your knowledge of me is too deep; it is beyond my understanding. Where could I go to escape from You? Where could I get away from Your presence? If I went up to heaven, You would be there; if I lay down in the world of the dead, You would be there. If I flew away beyond the east or lived in the farthest place in the west, You would be there to lead me, You would be there to help me. I could ask the darkness to hide me or the light around me to turn into night, but even darkness is not dark for You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are the same to You.”
It blesses me to know that God is everywhere wanting to provide for us, help us, and protect us with His power. That is because I truly believe in His total righteousness. I also believe with all my heart that He wants us to seek Him when we are in need of any kind. He wants to be there for us. JN 1: 29 gives us a crucial view of His mindset. “The next day John saw Jesus coming to him, and said, ‘There is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world!’” JN 5: 21 lets us see another way the Father and the Son are connected. “Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, in the same way the Son gives life to those He wants to.” Giving life and taking away the sins of the world are hardly the acts of a Deity that doesn’t care what happens to His children. Instead, they are the acts of a Lord Who provides. The very essence of life itself is only the beginning of what our Lord provides.
It is interesting to note that God commanded Abraham to offer Isaac on the altar at Mt. Moriah, the highest place in what would later be Jerusalem, His city on the hill [GN 22: 2]. Abraham and Isaac had no way to know the significance of this place at the time, but they were both willing to be obedient to God without question. From the hindsight that reading the Scriptures gives us, we are able to see that God was mapping out the place where His temple would eventually stand. 2 CH 3: 1, “King David, Solomon’s father, had already prepared a place for the Temple. It was in Jerusalem, on Mount Moriah, the place which Araunah the Jebusite had used as a threshing place…” If we understand God’s mindset as our Lord Who provides, we know that it was always His desire to live among us and to be the center of our lives. The fact that He doesn’t at this point in time is due to mankind’s disobedience, making it necessary for God, through Christ to go through the process of the “separation of the sheep from the goats” [see MT 25: 32]. We have been told over and over again that it is God’s will that His eternal Kingdom will eventually replace all our temporary human ones once this separation takes place [see DN 2: 34-35]. Christ will be given authority to rule with us as joint-heirs to it [DN 7: 13-14; RO 8: 17]. I believe one of the main reasons this will happen is because God wants to provide for the children He so profoundly loves. I know He will live among us again because I believe the description of the new Jerusalem given in REV 22: 3-5 to be true. “Nothing that is under God’s curse will be found in the city. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and His servants will worship Him. They will see His face, and His name will be written on their foreheads. There shall be no more night, and they will not need lamps or sunlight, because the Lord God will be their light, and they will rule as kings forever and ever.”
PRAYER: O Lord, we are truly blessed when we realize our dependence on You and need for Your presence, guidance, sustenance, direction, provision, and light in our lives. Too often, we get the idea that we are either self-sufficient or only need the advice of the world to conduct our lives. You are the only Entity in the universe that is truly self-existent and self-sufficient. We must learn not to allow the lure of worldly values and the flesh to deter us from acknowledging Your lordship over our lives. Just as You tried to teach the Jews wandering in the desert for 40 years that You were their Jehovah-Jireh by supplying them with manna and water from a rock, You are still trying to teach us that we need to turn to You for all that we need. When we do turn to You, You offer us what we cannot get from any human source, beginning with our very lives and extending to any other needs we have. You have given Your Son, Jesus Christ, authority to do the same. We dedicate ourselves to acknowledging You as our Jehovah-Jireh and willingly welcoming You as the Lord of our lives. We come to You in humility and offer You our worship, adoration, honor, glory, praise, and thanks-all You so richly deserve. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
Tomorrow, we will continue allowing God to reveal Himself to us through wonderful citations from the Scriptures. We will see even more ways that God is our Jehovah-Jireh. In the meanwhile, be encouraged by knowing that our Abba loves us with the generosity and wisdom that the very best parents have for their children. When we are faithful and obedient, we never go a minute in our lives without the warmth and provision that His love gives us. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn