Knowing the Gardener (Part 2)

The Gardener Provides

Years ago, my then teenage son and I worked on a Habitat House. Our only job all day was to place sod in the front yard of this house, and we quickly found out it was laborious work. Sod is heavy.

After a day of manual labor, we were worn out and agreed, “A slush from Sonic sure sounds good right now” but we didn’t know where a Sonic was.

It was before the days of navigation systems and we were serving in a part of town that was not familiar, so on our way home, I got lost. We were winding along trying to find our way out of the maze, when I spotted a highway. I immediately headed that way, and staring at us from the access road was a Sonic! I never forgot that day because it was an example of how God provided and met a need after a hard day’s work of serving the kingdom. He knew exactly where the Sonic was, and took us there.

In the Old Testament, there are many names for God. When it comes to providing, he’s referred to as “Jehovah Jirah.”

This name of God first showed up in Genesis 22 when Abraham led his son, Isaac, up to Mount Moriah to offer him as a burnt offering to God. Can you imagine how difficult this was for Abraham? But by faith, I believe Abraham knew all along that his heavenly Father would provide another sacrifice. When Isaac asked his dad where the lamb was for the burnt offering, Abraham said,  “Jehovah Jireh himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.” If Abraham truly believed God was going to let him go through with this cruel act, I think he would have responded to Isaac’s question in a different way.

“We’ll see what happens.”

“I don’t know.”

“Too many questions!”

And of course, God did provide a sacrificial ram at the eleventh hour.

Perhaps it is the eleventh hour for you right now, and you are desperate for provision. If you are connected to the vine (Jesus), then trust that the Holy Gardener will provide, if you’ve given the situation over to Him.

Matthew 6:26 says, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying ad a single hour to your life? If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not more clothe you of little faith?”

Our Gardener is always watching over the garden, but sometimes, as a part of the cultivation process, he’ll wait a bit to see if we trust him to provide.

 

 

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