Jehovah Jireh: God Provides
A Step of Faith
After reading through the book of Chronicles, I desired to become more like the Levite priests. I was working in the government at the time, but I wanted to serve in the house of the Lord full time. So I prayed and asked for advice from many other strong Christians. God used those people to help confirm my decision to make a job change.
Soon, I stepped down from my government job. It was an act of faith because I had no other job lined up. I did not know where else to turn, so that day I put in an application to work for The Salvation Army. That same day, The Salvation Army called me for an interview!
I believe that phone call was divine providence. I went to the interview, and The Salvation Army hired me on the spot to work at their store. From that experience, I concluded something simple: God provides!
Can you say that with me? Say, “God provides!”
Jehovah Jireh: The Lord Will Provide
Another way of saying that is, “Jehovah Jireh!” Jehovah is a traditional rendering of YHWH, the Hebrew name of God, and Jireh is associated with providing. Together, Jehovah Jireh means, “The Lord Will Provide”—or, in ordinary Christian language, “God provides.”
This name comes from Genesis 22:14:
“So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.’” (Genesis 22:14, NIV)
That Bible verse became especially important to me because the story spoke directly into my situation.
Abraham, Isaac, and the Ram
In Genesis 22, God told Abraham to offer Isaac, the son whom he loved, as a sacrifice on a mountain. Abraham took Isaac and the wood for the sacrifice and went toward the place God had shown him. Abraham told his servants to stay behind while he and Isaac continued up the mountain.
Isaac carried the wood on which the sacrifice would be offered. As they walked, Isaac asked his father where the lamb for the offering was. Abraham answered that God would provide it.
Abraham then built the altar and prepared to offer Isaac, but at the last moment the angel of the Lord called out to him and stopped him. Abraham had demonstrated that he feared God and was willing to obey Him. Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. He sacrificed the ram instead of his son.
That is when Abraham named the place “The Lord Will Provide.”
This chapter became especially meaningful to me because I saw a parallel between Abraham’s experience and what I was going through. My situation was obviously not the same as Abraham’s literal test, but I felt that God was asking me to surrender something precious to me and trust Him with what happened next.
Trusting God With My Family
My wife was seven months pregnant with our first child when I believed God was telling me to step down from my job. I had no other job waiting for me, and I knew that I needed to provide for my family because I would be our only source of income.
As I prayed about it, part of me wanted to say, “No, God. I’m not going to step down from my job. I have a child on the way.”
But I also knew that God already knew that before He asked me to make the change.
I felt that God was asking whether I trusted Him enough to obey even when I could not see how my family would be provided for. I was not sacrificing my child, but I was surrendering my sense of financial security and entrusting the well-being of my child and my family to God.
God reminded me of Abraham’s story. When I recognized that parallel, I prayed, in effect, “Yes, Lord. I will step down from this job even though I do not yet know where my income will come from.”
That is when I felt like I saw God’s provision unfold.
God’s Provision Unfolded
The very same day that I stepped down from my government job, The Salvation Army called me. I had obeyed God without knowing what would happen next, and then, on that same day, another opportunity appeared.
In my mind, that Salvation Army job became like the proverbial ram caught in the thicket. God had already prepared something else for me. Just as Abraham discovered that God had provided the ram, I discovered that God had already prepared another source of income for my family.
God provides.
That experience reminded me that God provides what I need. I believe that God will provide for you too as you seek Him in prayer. He may not always give you what you want at the time, but He will give you what you need as you seek Him.
That is a promise we see in Psalm 23:1:
“Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need.” (Psalm 23:1, The Living Bible)
Looking Back
An interesting thought came to me after I made the job change.
While I was working in the government job, I was experiencing health problems, some of which were probably due to my own folly. Nonetheless, it was becoming very difficult for me to work every day, and my health was suffering.
After I stepped down from the government job and began working for The Salvation Army, I discovered that the new job was much easier for me physically and mentally. My mind felt better, and I stopped having the headaches I had experienced while working at the government job.
Looking back, I realized that if I had remained at my government job, my health problems might eventually have forced me to step down anyway.
That changed the way I looked at the entire experience.
When God asked me to make the job change, it initially felt as though I was doing something that might make it harder to provide for my child. In reality, the change put me in a situation where I was better able to work, function, and provide for my family.
I could not see that beforehand.
God could.
That experience taught me that obedience to God is sometimes more important than doing what seems safest or most logical to us in the moment. God sees things that we cannot see, and He knows what lies ahead.
Pray, Discern, and Obey
At the same time, decisions like these should not be made recklessly. If you believe God is asking you to make a major change, pray fervently about it. Search the Scriptures. Ask mature Christians whom you trust for counsel. Take the time necessary to discern whether God is truly leading you.
But once you have sincerely prayed, searched the Scriptures, sought wise counsel, and become convinced that God is leading you down a particular path, have the courage to follow Him.
Is God asking you to do something today?
Is He asking you to forgive someone? Is He asking you to take a leap of faith? Is He leading you toward a job change or another major decision?
Seek Him carefully. Then, when you are convinced that He is leading you, trust Him enough to obey.
You may discover, as I did, that God knew what you needed long before you could see it.
God Provides
Through this experience, I learned that I can entrust my children to God. Even if I were to pass away today, I believe God would still provide for them.
Jehovah Jireh.
God provides.