Then Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My Father.” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said,”Look, here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the offering?”
Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering.” And the two of them went on together. Genesis 22:7-8
If you grew up going to Sunday school, you know the story of how God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a sign of his love for his Creator. Father and son head off together. “Where’s the lamb for the sacrifice?” the boy asked. His father’s responded “God will provide.” Abraham tied his son down to the altar and, at the very moment Abraham was preparing to plunge his knife into his son’s heart, God sent his angel to stop Abraham and he pointed out a ram caught in the bushes. Abraham was instructed to sacrifice the ram instead, and God was please with Abraham’s faith, even to the point of giving up his beloved son.
Did Abraham know God was going to step in and spare his son? Did he think God might raise his slain child from the dead? I don’t know, but I do know he was totally willing to follow his LORD and had faith that God would provide a way. He’d even told his servants to wait for them until they returned. Did you catch that? Until THEY returned. He knew Isaac would be with him.
Back in 2003, our family had a “the Lord will provide” episode. My husband was downsized from his job of 20+ years and he found himself unemployed in small town Kansas. Now granted, we had inklings that this might happen. The company he worked for had been bought out by another company and they were paring down the workforce. We toyed with the idea of him looking for a job closer to Kansas City where we both had family, but we liked our small town. Six years of hemming and hawing caught up with us and Ernie’s job was downsized.
He was devastated. He was the primary breadwinner, and there was no way we would be able to make it on my income as a speech therapist in a small town Kansas district.
Fortunately, Ernie’s company had given him a severance package to get us through the next six months. Ernie started looking at home and in neighboring towns for work. There was nothing out there. Six months went by with nary a nibble.
Ernie applied for unemployment and cast his net further: Kansas City, Joplin Missouri, Wichita. There was nothing to be found. The net went farther: nationwide. Finally nibbles started coming in from Baton Rouge Louisiana, Pensacola Florida, Saint Louis Missouri and Grand Rapids Michigan.
My school year was ending, and my district was wanting to know if I would be back the next term. It was a dilemma as to what to do. The district was an hour drive from home. Ernie had no sure prospects yet, but should I made a commitment to my school, knowing we could be moving at any time? Our finances were quickly being depleted. Our children qualified for medicaid, so their medical expenses were covered, but if I quit my job, I wouldn’t qualify for unemployment and we would be solely supported by Ernie’s unemployment benefits.
Ernie and I talked it over. We had no options left but to put our total trust in God, praying he would honor our faithfulness and trust in Him. I gave my district my notice. As summer was ending, nearly a year to the day of his termination, Ernie got a call offering him a good paying contract position in Grand Rapids Michigan.
“The LORD will provide.” Abraham said.
It’s a scary experience having nothing to trust in but God’s goodness, but His goodness is sufficient. During the year of Ernie’s unemployment, we never once missed a house payment or failed to pay a bill. Our children were provided for, and our trust in the LORD grew. Praise God for his faithfulness!
Do you have a “the LORD will provide” moment?