Today’s Reading: Genesis 21:3-50:26

God blessed Abraham and Sarah with a son and they named him Isaac. They quickly learned that the same God who blesses us with children also asks us to trust Him with what comes next — to do anything God would ask us to do with the blessings He has provided for us.

“Take your son, your only son – yes, Isaac, whom you love so much – and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” The next morning Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey and took two of his servants with him, along with his son, Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about. – Genesis 22:2-3

God promised Abraham that he would have countless descendants. Isaac was the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, yet God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. I would have reacted with confusion and a lot of emotion, but that is not how Abraham displayed his faith. He trusted God to provide and faithfully, without hesitation, walked up the mountain with his greatest possession – his son.

WE DO NOT NEED TO PROTECT WHAT GOD GAVE US FROM THE GOD WHO GAVE IT TO US.

Abraham was willing to take what he had been given and give it back to God. Just as he was about to sacrifice his son, Abraham heard the angel’s voice and then saw that God had provided a ram for the sacrifice. On that mountain, both father and son learned that God provides.

Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). To this day, people still use that name as a proverb: “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.” – Genesis 22:14

God keeps His promises, and He provides for the fulfillment of those promises. This knowledge keeps us going when it seems like life is moving too fast and when life gets really hard. This is what helps us cling to the Lord instead of embracing all the blessings He has bestowed on us.

When asked to perform the important task of finding a wife for Isaac, Abraham’s servant was willing, he was prepared, and he left equipped to do what he had been asked to do. Next he strategically positioned himself. He was there to find a young woman, so he went to the place where the women were known to go each day and draw water for their families. Then he prayed to God for success (Genesis 24).

AND THE LORD PROVIDED A WIFE FOR ISAAC. NEXT HE PROVIDED A LARGE FAMILY FOR JACOB.

Isaac’s son, Jacob, was also sent to his mother’s family to find a wife. On the journey, Jacob had an encounter with God. Provision was promised — provision for Jacob and for his numerous descendants. God promised to both provide and protect. He promised to be with Jacob, and what could be better than the provision of God’s presence? So Jacob took the pillow God had provided and set it up as a pillar, pouring oil on it and named it Bethel. And in this moment, he made a vow to God just as God had made a vow to Him — If you are with me, then I am with you!

Jacob’s story consists of both good times and bad. Jacob was blessed with two wives, two concubines, eleven sons and one daughter. He had acquired much wealth but his household had also acquired pagan idols. Jacob had to seek peace among his wives, peace with his uncle, and then lastly to seek peace with his brother, Esau. Life was difficult but God was present.

One of the greatest lessons I have learned is that God has a plan even when the choices of others are outside of God’s will — even when life is difficult. When I rest in His sovereignty, I learn how to trust Him despite everything that is going on around me. I learn to trust that God will provide in the midst of it all.

Jacob’s favorite son, Joseph, was affected time and time again by the sinful decisions of others, but God was NEVER uninvolved. Out of jealousy, Joseph’s brothers sinned against him when they sold him into slavery, but God did not abandon Joseph. A lot of good came out of Joseph’s life, even though the trajectory of his life drastically changed when his new master threw him into prison. I believe it was not God’s perfect will for Joseph to be sinned against and separated from his family, yet God’s plan was to use it for good.

THERE WAS NEVER A MOMENT WHEN GOD WAS UNAWARE OF JOSEPH’S SITUATION OR WITHOUT A PLAN.

God used Joseph’s location to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams. When Joseph was placed in a position of authority, God used Joseph’s position to store up food during the years of plenty in order to provide during the years of famine. When his brothers arrived to buy food for their families, Joseph revealed his identity to them.

“I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives…God has sent me ahead of you to keep you and your families alive and to preserve many survivors. So it was God who sent me here, not you! And he is the one who made me an advisor to Pharoah…” – Genesis 45:4b-8

God takes all of our experiences in life and He executes a beautiful plan for how to use them for our good and for the good of others. God can take the deepest pain and the most tragic of stories and redeem it for the building of His kingdom. But first we need to stop acting for God and fully surrender our pain to Him. We need to stop seeing through the lens of our victimhood and allow the Lord to fully restore our hearts, bringing joy to the space we were reserving for self-pity, anger and hatred.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:28

Lord, thank you for the many ways in which you have provided for us. We choose to give you our past, trust you with our future, and live today in confidence that YOU ARE THE GOD WHO PROVIDES. Amen.