Showing posts with label When I Lay My Isaac Down. Show all posts
Showing posts with label When I Lay My Isaac Down. Show all posts

Thursday, September 3, 2015

The Names of God: Jehovah-Jireh


Jehovah-Jireh: The LORD Will Provide

Genesis 22:14 KJV
And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen.


Jehovah-Jireh, The LORD Will Provide. I have so many testimonies, so many blessings I could write about in affirmation of this name of God. So many times in my life and in the lives of my family and my church family when the LORD has provided, has seen to our needs in ways we did not think possible. Jehovah-Jireh sees each and every one of us, sees what we stand in need of and provides for us in ways we cannot fathom, just as He has always done. 

Abraham was the first to use this name of God after God provided for Himself a lamb to sacrifice on Mount Moriah. Abraham took a staggering leap of faith when he left that day to walk with Isaac up on the mountain. But he never doubted that they would both return. He told the men who had made the journey with them that together he and Isaac would go and worship and together they would return. He never doubted, even for a second that Isaac would return with him, even telling Isaac that God would provide Himself a burnt offering. His faith was rewarded in God's provision of the ram. God knew that Abraham was willing to give all he had to God, even his own flesh and blood, and so He blessed him with the promise that Abraham's seed would multiply as the stars of the heaven and the sands of the sea shore. And God continued to provide for the children of Israel throughout their generations.  

And we can be sure today that beyond our physical needs and wants, beyond all things worldly and temporal, our eternal needs have been provided for as well. Jehovah-Jireh provided for Himself a sacrifice once again in His Son Jesus Christ, a Lamb more pure than any other, perfect and without blemish. Once we accept His Son as our Savior, we need not ever worry again about the trails and tribulations of this life. That is not to say that we will not endure them as children of God, but that we have the assurance that regardless of the outcome of our trials,they are only temporary. Our eternal provisions have been made. My earthly home may be small, may be old, may not be fancy and may need many repairs, but my Lord has gone to prepare a place for me, a mansion in gloryland, that mortal hands could never craft. My earthly car may be outdated, scratched, dented, and in need of repairs, but praise God I'll not need it when I leave this wretched body behind and my feet touch the streets of gold that await me in Paradise. My clothes may not be fashionable, may not fit just right,and  my boys may wear hand-me-downs, but that's just fine, because my Savior is standing at the right hand of the Father, ready to adorn us in robes of white and crowns of glory.

There may be much you stand in need of tonight, but there is nothing that Jehovah-Jireh cannot provide, temporal or eternal, we must simply put our faith in Him and ask. We must be willing to take that staggering leap of faith as Abraham did and trust that God will provide for His own. We must lay our Isaac down, whatever that may be. We must be prepared to give God our all, our most precious possessions, our time, our lives, and serve Him. When we give Him our lives in service, He sees to every need, He provides at every turn and in every circumstance.

He is Jehovah-Jireh, the LORD Who Provides.


Abraham prayed for the day 
God would give him a son 
Blessed Isaac was his name 
The greatest gift he’d ever known 
Then came the day, who would have dreamed 
God would say “Give him to me
On this mountain you will prove, 
It’s you and Isaac, or it’s me and you”


When I lay my Isaac down 
Broken heart but my Fathers proud 
On this altar here he lays 
Just to find it wasn’t him, God wanted me


Most of us I’d dare to say 
Have an Isaac in God’s way 
On the Altar God will prove 
It’s not your Isaac that he wants 
He wants you


When I lay my Isaac down 
Broken heart but my Fathers proud 
On this altar here he lays 
Just to find it wasn’t him, God wanted me










Saturday, June 14, 2014

Who Are You Lord? : I Am Strength, I Am Power



Exodus 14:14 KJV
The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

2 Samuel 22:33 KJV
God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect.

Psalms 68:35 KJV
O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.

Psalms 73:26 KJV
My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.


When I Lay My Isaac Down

Abraham prayed for the day 
God would give him a son 
Blessed Isaac was his name 
The greatest gift he’d ever known 
Then came the day, who would have dreamed 
God would say “You gotta give him back to me
And on this mountain you will prove, 
That it’s you and Isaac, or it’s me and you”

So when I lay my Isaac down 
With a broken heart but my Fathers proud 
And on this altar where he lays 
Just to find it wasn’t him, God wanted me

Now most of us I’d dare to say 
We've got an Isaac standing in God’s way 
But it's on this altar you too can prove 
That it’s not your Isaac that God wants 
But He wants you

And when I lay my Isaac down 
With a broken heart but my Fathers proud 
And on this altar where he lays 
Just to find it wasn’t him, God wanted me

And when I lay my Isaac down 
With a broken heart but my Fathers proud 
And on this altar where he lays 
Just to find it wasn’t him, God wanted me

And on this altar where he lays 
Just to find it wasn’t him, God wanted me

All to Jesus I surrender; 
All to Him I freely give; 
I will ever love and trust him, 
In His presence daily live. 
I surrender all, 
I surrender all, 
All to thee, my blessed Savior, 
I surrender all. 


And when I lay my Isaac down 
With a broken heart but my Fathers proud 
And on this altar where he lays 
Just to find it wasn’t him, God wanted me

And on this altar where he lays 
Just to find it wasn’t him, God wanted me

I cannot imagine being Abraham or how he felt when God called on him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice.  The Bible says nothing about Abraham's emotions, only of his obedience.  God called and he answered, "here am I". God gave him instructions and he immediately began to pack for the journey to the mountains of Moriah.  No questions. No arguments. Just obedience. Just faith. Just strength and power from God to do what He'd asked of him.  Exodus tells us that God will fight for us, we must only hold our peace, be still, keep quiet, and let God work.  Abraham did not have the faintest idea of what God was doing when He told him to offer his only son as a burnt offering but he held his peace because he knew God was fighting for him.  And when Isaac questioned him about the missing sacrificial lamb on the way up the mountain, he simply said that God would provide.  God gives His strength and His power to His people, and Abraham surely needed it in that moment.  It took that God-given strength and power not to jerk Isaac up against him and run like mad down the mountain toward home.  That is almost assuredly what Sarah would've done had she been in Abraham's place.  It's what I'd have done, if I'd ever finished arguing with God about going in the first place.  But Abraham didn't.  They traveled on until they reached the top and then they built the alter.  Abraham bound Isaac...and Isaac let him...more obedience, more faith, more strength, more power.  Isaac could've run, he could've fought, he could've done everything in his will to try to escape his father when he realized that he was to be the sacrifice.  But he didn't. He willingly let Abraham bind him and lay him on that alter.  And as he laid there he watched Abraham raise the knife above his head.  My flesh and heart would've failed in that moment, but not Abraham's.  God's strength and power made Abraham's way perfect and just before he brought the knife down, the angel of the Lord called out to him, stopping him.  The Bible doesn't tell of it, but I can just see Abraham's knees sagging with relief, I can see him cutting the binding on Isaac's body and hugging him tight, I can see him crying out to God with thanks for sparing his son and sending the ram.

Three times was Abraham called upon in Genesis 22, by God, by Isaac, by the angel.  And each time he answered, "here am I."  How do we answer when God calls upon us? Do we answer with obedience and faith? Do we answer with strength and power? Or do we answer in fear?  I am guilty of answering in fear more often than not, that is if I'm not trying to hide from Him completely. But God may be calling on me to see if I'll lay my Isaac down, if I'm willing to surrender all to Him.  Because if I'm not, if I've got an Isaac standing in my way, then I can never reach God's full potential for me. I'll never be given the full strength and power meant for me without my faith and obedience.