JIREH: THE PROVIDER

Let us start with a question; What is God like?

Psalm 34: O taste and see that the Lord is good

Is the Lord good? Well, the Psalmist gave that testimony! He is.

Has the Lord been good to you? Selah

Goodness is one of the innumerable attributes of God. When we say attributes, we don’t mean the characters or parts of God that makes up God. Our God is not made up of parts. In that light, every attribute of God is God.

Now to the attribute of Goodness, God is not good because He is trying to keep or follow a standard. He is good because He is the source of all goodness.

Matthew 7:11 NLT: “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him”.

A man’s walk with God is strengthened by the personal revelations he has about God. His walk with God depends more on his cumulative experiences with God over time which builds his perceptions about God.

The scripture is filled with the stories of different men and their encounters with God.
These encounters in a way have provided for us an enormous view of the attributes of God; who God is and What God can do. However, that is not all that there is to God. A journey into God is a journey into infinitude. All of God’s attributes cannot be measured or exhausted.

By the reason of our encounters with God, we can begin to call God names according to what He has proved himself to be in our lives. Abraham’s encounter with God in Genesis 22 sheds more light on this. Take a pause and read that story if you haven’t.

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JEHOVAH JIREH

God began a conversation with Abraham. In the course of the conversation, God made some demands that seemed outrageous. The instruction was a hard one but the bible records that Abraham rose up and attended to it.

Genesis 22:5 NLT: “Stay here with the donkey,” Abraham told the servants. “The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back.”

Abraham called his attention to God’s instructions as a worship. What level of obedience and reverence!
The lad, Isaac who was a part of the transaction knew about his father’s intent to go to worship. He checked through the list of things they went with and saw that they had all that they needed except one thing; the lamb for the burnt offering.

He called his father’s attention to this. Notice what Abraham said:
Genesis 22:8 NLT: “God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son,” Abraham answered. And they both walked on together”.

Now what did Abraham know about God that inspired this response? Had he known God to be a provider before then?

What do you know about God? What have you known about God in your walk with Him?
Now, let’s summarize the whole story into three points

1. Abraham had a walk with God. His experiences were beyond the things he heard about God. He had come to know God for himself.

2. Knowing God involves attending to His instructions. Your knowledge of God (emphasis on your personal knowledge about God) would help you attend to His instructions, no matter how grievous.

3. Receiving from God first involves knowing the God who gives.

Let’s talk a bit about this last point

All that we intend to ask from God never comes as a surprise to Him. In fact, all that we intend to ask of is already ours. Why then does it seem like we don’t always get what we ask for?

1. When you don’t have a walk with God, you begin to see God like a customer care representative that you go to for help when you’re in trouble but God enjoys being spoken to.
Psalms 37:4 NLT: Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.
Those who delight in God would have their heart desires because their desires are in accordance to God’s will. It’s that simple.

2. When we have a walk with God and the motives behind our desires are not pure. In the place of prayers, God begins to work on our hearts, to rewire our person to fit into a posture that can receive what he wants to give to us.

3. Our faith gives in to doubts; James 1:6

A man who is full of faith does not doubt. Doubts can come into his thoughts but he replaces them with the promises of God’s word. That is how to build your faith. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing the word.

A man full of faith is not double minded. You cannot believe God in your heart and speak otherwise with your lips. Let your belief find expressions in your speech.
This then brethren is How we can come into the full experience of what has been promised for the month!

FEAR NOT!
JIREH IS HERE FOR YOU!

MARANATHA

EDITORIAL AND LIBRARY UNIT,

TACSFON UI.