I have been pondering the Names of God, reading Ann Spangler's Praying the Names of God. Names in the Bible reflected the entire personality of a person. God introduces Himself by various names throughout the Bible. This book is designed to inform the reader of all the parts of God's personality He has revealed throughout the ages. I am currently reading the section on Jehovah Jireh, the God who Provides.
So many times we find ourselves in a tight spot. There seem to be no options, and it would be easy to despair. God wants us to look to Him for all we need. I think God allows the tight spots and hard times in our lives so that we can see what we are really made of. (Pride Buster!!) It is like watching the goldsmith refine gold. Gold has many impurities when it is mined. The goldsmith heats the gold up to the point where the impurities start rising to the top. As they do, the goldsmith scrapes them off. He knows the gold is pure when he can see his reflection in it.
I believe that God does the same for us. He sees the impurities, the things in our lives that are holding us back from being all that He has created us to be. He allows difficulties to cause our impurities to rise to the surface, and we wonder, where did that come from? Above all, God wants us to look to Him for all provision, and He gives us opportunities to do so. He is working with us so He can see His reflection in us. According to Ann Spangler's book, obedience is the way to receive God's provision:
"Abraham was one of the Bible’s most successful men, blessed with a long life, many children, great personal wealth, and a profound spiritual legacy. What was the simple secret of his success? Obedience. Because of it, Abraham didn’t need a bull market in order to prosper. He only needed to do God’s will. His obedience was the capital he invested, the principal that yielded an enormous return. Without obedience we will never experience the provision God intends for us."
"Alexander MacClaren, a nineteenth-century Scottish preacher, reminds us that God’s provision is not automatic:
'If we wish to have our outward needs supplied, our outward weaknesses strengthened, power and energy sufficient for duty, wisdom for perplexity, a share in the Sacrifice which takes away the sins of the world, we receive them all on the condition that we are found in the place where all God’s provision is treasured. If a man chooses to sit outside the baker’s shop, he may starve on its threshold.... And if we will not ascend to the hill of the Lord and stand in His holy place by simple faith, and by true communion of heart and life, God’s amplest provision is nought to us; and we are empty in the midst of affluence.'"
"If you have been “sitting outside the baker’s shop,” hungry for God’s blessing, ask Him to help you to move inside by giving you the grace to obey even the smallest command. Before long your small steps of obedience will lead to larger ones and then your steady habit of obedience will lead to deepened faith, enabling you to experience God as Abraham did, as Yahweh Yireh."
Lord, help me to listen and obey every moment of every day. Keep me from and overly busy mind and schedule. Help me stop, look and listen, so I will know what is really going on, and follow You with all my heart, strength and mind.
So many times we find ourselves in a tight spot. There seem to be no options, and it would be easy to despair. God wants us to look to Him for all we need. I think God allows the tight spots and hard times in our lives so that we can see what we are really made of. (Pride Buster!!) It is like watching the goldsmith refine gold. Gold has many impurities when it is mined. The goldsmith heats the gold up to the point where the impurities start rising to the top. As they do, the goldsmith scrapes them off. He knows the gold is pure when he can see his reflection in it.
I believe that God does the same for us. He sees the impurities, the things in our lives that are holding us back from being all that He has created us to be. He allows difficulties to cause our impurities to rise to the surface, and we wonder, where did that come from? Above all, God wants us to look to Him for all provision, and He gives us opportunities to do so. He is working with us so He can see His reflection in us. According to Ann Spangler's book, obedience is the way to receive God's provision:
"Abraham was one of the Bible’s most successful men, blessed with a long life, many children, great personal wealth, and a profound spiritual legacy. What was the simple secret of his success? Obedience. Because of it, Abraham didn’t need a bull market in order to prosper. He only needed to do God’s will. His obedience was the capital he invested, the principal that yielded an enormous return. Without obedience we will never experience the provision God intends for us."
"Alexander MacClaren, a nineteenth-century Scottish preacher, reminds us that God’s provision is not automatic:
'If we wish to have our outward needs supplied, our outward weaknesses strengthened, power and energy sufficient for duty, wisdom for perplexity, a share in the Sacrifice which takes away the sins of the world, we receive them all on the condition that we are found in the place where all God’s provision is treasured. If a man chooses to sit outside the baker’s shop, he may starve on its threshold.... And if we will not ascend to the hill of the Lord and stand in His holy place by simple faith, and by true communion of heart and life, God’s amplest provision is nought to us; and we are empty in the midst of affluence.'"
"If you have been “sitting outside the baker’s shop,” hungry for God’s blessing, ask Him to help you to move inside by giving you the grace to obey even the smallest command. Before long your small steps of obedience will lead to larger ones and then your steady habit of obedience will lead to deepened faith, enabling you to experience God as Abraham did, as Yahweh Yireh."
Lord, help me to listen and obey every moment of every day. Keep me from and overly busy mind and schedule. Help me stop, look and listen, so I will know what is really going on, and follow You with all my heart, strength and mind.
RSS Feed
