Have you ever been tested? Severely tested? If you answered that question, “Yes,” you can relate to Abraham in today’s passage. And, even if you haven’t experienced it yet, you will also see in this passage that God is always at work, and he always provides. Let me set the context.

God blessed Abraham and Sarah with a son and then followed up with a severe test.  God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, his son, as a burnt offering. Child sacrifice was never a part of God’s plan, but God was testing Abraham’s love and obedience. God had been at work on Abraham long before this unthinkable assignment. He had taught Abraham humility and patience. God had provided Abraham with standing and influence, and finally, God gave Abraham a son. By this point, Abraham was so devoted to God, “so confident that God knows what he is doing, that he is willing at God’s command to kill his own son, the heir for whose birth he waited so long.”[1] Abraham had been a man of the world. Now, he was a man of God.

Even so, it was with a heavy heart that Abraham complied. As he took his knife to take his son’s life, God said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me” (Genesis 22:12).

Genesis 22:13-14
And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

“The Lord will provide.” That’s the Hebrew name Yahweh Yireh. He provides exactly what we need exactly when we need it. Someone has said that God is seldom early but never late. He is always right on time. God sees our situation, and he continually delivers. God’s provisions are not always what we want, but they are what we need.

What do you need God to do for you? Maybe unemployment has rocked your world. Maybe an illness has blindsided you. Maybe the death of a loved one has brought life to a grieving halt. Maybe circumstances have left you exhausted. Maybe you are filled with anxiety. You need a job, health, comfort, strength, and peace. The same God who provided for Abraham in his time of testing will also provide for you. His name is Yahweh Yireh.

Yahweh Yireh,
You know exactly what I need. You are able to deliver. Your timing is perfect. I trust you. You are the Lord who will provide. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

[1] J. I. Packer, Knowing God (Downers Grove, Ill., IVP Books, 1973), 94.