Tag Archives: need

March 4, 2013 · 7:52 AM

Jehovah Jireh

This week I’m going to do a little something different. I’m going to focus on a few names given to God in the Bible and what they mean to us. Some of them you may have heard of and others you may not have. The first one that I want to look at is the one that is probably the most popular: Jehovah Jireh. Every time I hear that name, my mind starts to play that old song we used to sing in church.

The lyrics say, “Jehovah Jireh. My provider. His grace is sufficient for thee. My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in Glory. He will give His angels charge over thee. Jehovah Jireh careth for thee.” The song may be old, but the truth in it is everlasting. God will supply all your needs when we act in obedience to His voice.

The place in the Bible where this name for God comes from is Genesis 22:14. Abraham had been asked by God to sacrifice his son through whom the promise was to come through. I’m sure Abraham wondered about that. I know I would have. My thoughts would have been, “God, didn’t you promise that my descendants would outnumber the stars? Yet, now you are asking me to sacrifice the only way that is possible.”

If Abraham ever thought like that, you wouldn’t know it. He knew that if God could help he and his wife conceive miraculously in their old age, God could do above and beyond anything he could imagine. God had been true to His word so far, so why not trust Him this time? If you’re like me, your memory with God is short term. I forget all the things He has done for me and start to doubt.

Isaac was a little curious too. He asked his dad, “I see we have the wood and the fire, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?” Abraham, in faith, answered, “God will provide.” They kept walking all the way to the mountain that God showed him. He then set out the wood, tied Isaac up and placed him on the altar. As he lifted his knife to kill the son of promise, the angel of The Lord called out and stopped him. He then provided a ram for the sacrifice.

I think it’s interesting to note that Abraham kept walking to the mountain trusting God. Many times we sit and wait for God to provide before we are willing to step out in faith. Abraham traveled several days and had to build the altar before God provided what Abraham was trusting Him for. Our faith and trust in God’s ability to provide shouldn’t be passive. It should be proactive. We should continue to do what He called us to do and not sit still until He answers.

God is looking for obedience from us. He wants to provide for our needs, but we have to be in the place of His provision. The ram was caught by his horns at the top of the mountain, not at the base camp. Go where God has told you to go, do what God has told you to do and speak what God has told you to speak. It is in that place of action, that place of sheer faith and trust in God that He will provide for you. Jehovah Jireh, God will provide.

*Author’s note: I’m well aware of the ongoing discussion of Jehovah versus Yahweh. These posts are not intended to be a discussion ground for that debate, but rather to focus on who God is and what He promised to do.

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January 4, 2013 · 8:06 AM

Friends in Need

I have several friends going through some difficult times right now. Some have lost a parent, others have been given news that one of their parents has a terminal disease, one is fighting for her life in ICU and another going through a painful divorce. I’m sure there are others who have kept their struggles private not wanting to bother anyone else. This year has started off very difficult for a lot of people I know.

While every circumstance is unique, their pains and fears can be empathized with. When I went through a difficult period in my life, I was the one who didn’t want to bother others with my pain. People didn’t know how to respond. Some would say, “Time heals all wounds.” Others would say, “What doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger.” Then there were those who would not know what to say and simply say, “I’m sorry.” I’ve often thought about what could someone have said to ease the pain.

For me, I think there was nothing anyone could have said. Pain, loss and suffering are part of the furnace of life. It’s what molds us, strengthens us and pushes us onto other paths. There were no words that could have brought the healing I desperately needed. Looking back, I simply wanted someone to love me enough to stand by me in the hard times. Someone who would put their arm around me and say, “You’re not alone in this.”

One of my friends, who is going through one of these situations right now, once said, “When you have someone to stand with you through thick and thin, pain is divided and joy is multiplied.” While I can’t take the hurt, fears or questions away, I can stand with my friends to help divide their pain. Platitudes don’t bring much relief, but actions do. One action each of these friends can use right now is prayer.

When you struggle through difficult times like these, you need others who will lift you up and pray for you. When you don’t have the strength or words to pray for yourself, it helps to know that other believers are standing in the gap and fighting on your behalf. Psalm 28:7 says the Lord is our strength and shield. That’s what these people need. They need strength to make it through each day. They need protection from other things that would come against them when they’re down. They need peace that passes all understanding to come into their lives.

When there are no answers to the question of “Why”, God can still give peace in the midst of a storm. We may not understand why each of us experience these difficult times, but we can rest in the peace of knowing our God walks with us in difficult times. We can find comfort in knowing that God is still on His throne and He sees us in our dark times. He still heals. He still comforts. He still answers prayers. He still comes to those in need. May He do all of these to my friends in need and anyone reading this in need.

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September 13, 2012 · 7:39 AM

Offer Yourself, not Excuses

One of my favorite miracles that Jesus did was to feed the 5000. You can find it in Matthew 14:15-21. Jesus had just gone away from everyone because he found out his cousin, John the Baptist, had just been murdered. Even in a remote place, people who were looking for Jesus found Him. He didn’t send them away or tell them to let Him grieve in peace. Instead, He had compassion on them and ministered to them.

At the end of the day, the disciples came to Him and told Him to send the people away to find something to eat because it was late and they were in a barren place. Jesus looked at them and said, “They don’t need to leave. You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have nothing, but these 5 loaves and 2 fish.” He then said, “Bring them to me.” He broke the bread and fish and fed the 5000 with it.

All around us every day are people who are in a barren place. They are hungry spiritually. They are looking for Jesus. What do we do about it? Many of us pray for them. Some us hope God will put someone in their lives to show them the way. I think God looks back at us and says, “You feed them.” Too often we think we are incapable of feeding them. We look back at God and say, “I don’t have anything to give except this little bit. They need more than I have to give.”

I wonder if we frustrate God or if He just laughs sometimes at our lack of faith and trust in Him. If you feel like you have nothing to give to someone else, you are mistaken. God doesn’t care how little or how much you have. What He cares about is are you willing to give. God can take your little and multiply it. You just have to put it in His hands and trust Him with it.

After the disciples gave the food to Jesus, He broke it and blessed it. In order for God to multiply you to help many, you have to be broken. The more you allow God to break you, the more He can use you. When you are broken, you only have Him to rely on. When you have been broken, only then can you relate to others who are broken. It’s in our brokenness that God shows Himself to us the most. Many of us fight being broken because it hurts and we don’t want to go through the difficult times. When you fight it or avoid it, you limit what God can do with you. The amount to which God can use you depends on the amount you are willing to be broken.

Once you have been broken and blessed (yes it is a blessing to be broken), you must give of yourself. Jesus wasn’t the one who fed the crowds. He told the disciples to. You must take the broken pieces of your life and give them to others. It’s not His job to do it. It’s yours. The disciples noticed the crowd was hungry, not Jesus. We too must notice when others are hurting and hungry and give of ourselves. You may not have 5000 people who need a piece of you right now, but I guarantee there’s at least one. When you learn to give to one, God can then start to use you to help many.

When you see someone in your life who needs a touch from God, be willing to offer yourself to God to help them. Don’t complain that you can’t do it or that you don’t have anything to offer. You do. You have a certain skill set that no one else has. You have certain experiences that no one else has. You may be the only person who can reach them, feed them or help them, but you must be willing to put your life in God’s hands. You must be willing to be broken and given out. At the end of the miracle, Jesus sent the disciples back out to gather up the leftovers and there were baskets full. If you will give God your little, He’ll use you and multiply that little until you are overflowing.

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