11-13-06

I am still talking about PROVISION, and how being "obedient" to do what God and His Word tells you to do will open a channel for The Lord to get His PROVISION to you. Today, I want to use Abraham's obedience as an example. I am going to refer to Genesis 22:1-19 ~~~~ In verse 2, God told Abraham that He wanted him to offer up his son as a burnt offering (sacrifice). In the very next verse it says that Abraham "rose up early" the next morning and started doing exactly what God had told him to do. There is nothing between verse 2 and verse 3 that says that Abraham "argued" with God, or put off doing what God said to do. I am sure that it did not make any sense to Abraham's mind to do this, considering that Isaac was the son that God had promised to give him! No, He just honored God's command and did what he had been told to do. You can read for yourself what all went on, but I just want us to see what happened when Abraham lifted up the knife to slay Isaac . . . he then lifted up his eyes and saw a ram tangled up in a thicket of thorns and knew that God had indeed "provided" a sacrifice (Abraham confessed this in verse 8). My point is that the ram had been there long before Abraham "saw" it!!!! Can you see this? God is Jehovah-Jireh, the God that "provides" even ahead of time! Just because we can't SEE our "provision" doesn't mean that it is not there! It is our "doubt, fears and unbelief" that will keep us from seeing it . . . but, our "faith, trust and obedience" will cause us to "lift up our eyes" and SEE what The Good Shepherd has provided for us! Praise God!!!!!