Ladies, Ladies…All the Ladies!!

 

“Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.  Abraham called the name of that place THE LORD WILL PROVIDE, as it is said to this day…….” Genesis 22:13-14

Day    1

Read Genesis 22:1-14

1.        What was Abraham’s response every time he was addressed by the Lord?

2.       What does the phrase “Here I am” mean to you?  What do you think was the significance of that particular response?

3.       Is this YOUR response to the Lord’s calling in your own life?

Spend some time in prayer today thanking God for who He is as a provider.  Thank Him for all of the things he HAS provided for you lately and during the course of your life.  Are there areas in your life you need to be saying to him, Here I am?

Day   2

I remember growing up listening to the story of Abraham and Isaac over and over again in Sunday School classes.  However, it wasn’t until I became a parent that it literally BLEW my mind!!!  I can’t imagine—especially being the mother of little boys.  Anytime this story is alluded to or mentioned in sermons I can’t help but lean over to Chris and say…”that’s like you and Will or Josh!!  Could you do it?”  and ALWAYS his response is..”I would hope so.”  

I keep wondering what was going on in Abraham’s mind as he was trekking up the mountain.  Were his questions to God the same as Isaac’s questions to him? 

“Father?”…..”but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” (v.7) 

Well, as I study on…the answer was no.  He knew that God would provide a sacrifice…and he continued in faith up the mountain.

Read Hebrews 11:17-19.  What does it say about what was truly going on in Abraham’s heart?

As stated in the definition of faith according to Hebrews 11:1:

……“Faith is the assurance of things hoped for”…..

What did God promise to Abraham in Genesis 21:12?

Therefore, He didn’t know how the Lord would provide a fulfillment of His promise to Him—that “in Isaac your descendants shall be called”….but he knew that He would provide them as He had said.  I find myself questioning my own hope in the Lord.  Do I believe in this name of Jehovah.  I understand that Jesus Christ died for my sins and through my belief in him He will forgive my sins and I receive eternal salvation.  I believe that God provided for my salvation through Jesus Christ, but do I believe I have been freed in the day-to-day…do I truly believe that THE LORD WILL PROVIDE enough to get me through my CRAZY days?

1.        Is He enough? 

2.       How do you initially handle difficulties that arise in your life?

3.       Is this behavior a reflection of a faith in Christ and in who He is—that He is a provider? 

God has made promises to us.  The Bible is FULL of them.  What are a few of His promises to you? Read these passages…take some time over the course of this day and pray through them. Embrace God’s word and stand on these promises.

Isaiah 49:15-16, 40:28-29

James 1:12

Ephesians 3:20

What do these verses say about God’s character in relation to us today especially during the ‘hard times’?

Day   3

Read 1 Peter 2:21-23

“Here we go again”…I know what you’re thinking…”we are going down the road of suffering….that there is purpose in suffering and this is good for us”.  Well… sort of.  Sometimes it is difficult to see God as the great provider when we are faced with trials and perhaps “tests.”  But as I’m studying the story of Abraham and Isaac—the Lord purposed this task AS A TEST! And how excruciating must it have been—the thought of slaying your child.. much less your ONLY son… the son that was given to you to carry on your name.  I mean God couldn’t have been making sense at this point… But Abraham, through his faith in knowing WHO GOD was…packed for the trip…and threw in the knife! 

So what are your tests?  I tell you I am tested daily.  And most of my tests come in three little packages.  One is about the size of a four year old, one a two year old.. and then there is a little one perfect for a 10month old..(it’s pink!).  These are my DAILY trials.  Yes, they are blessings… but these are where most of my difficulties derive.  And when faced with the battle….am I slow to anger?  Am I gentle in my speech?  Do I look to the Lord for strength, for patience, for peace?  Is there worry involved?  Or fear?  God has placed my children on the mountain and has called me up it!  Am I walking in a willful mindset of “the Lord himself will provide.”  Is not worry part of the hardship in raising children?  We worry about their behavior, their grades, their friends, our failures, their health…..(maybe all of those things are just what I do)…BUT does worry have any place in the life of one who knows that their God is a God who will provide? 

I ask again….Is your faith based simply on the character of God and who He is or on your own circumstances? 

God provides our needs.. but He also allows our suffering.  Yet in our suffering He is faithful to provide strength and endurance–that we may “live the rest of our time….for the Will of God.” (1 Peter 4:2) Remember the little song in the beginning  “little ones to Him belong…”  remember we are HIS…and we are to accept what he brings to our table as for our good and provision. He’s given us our children, He’s given us our husbands, he’s brought about our friend relationships and our colleagues at work.  He is in all things and through all things… why wouldn’t He play a role in these things as well?  I think sometimes we forget that God is at work everywhere…..and in everything.  We forget… but praise the Lord as according to Isaiah, He NEVER FORGETS US!

Read Ephesians 2:10

What does it say about when God planned out our “works” ?

I love this verse because it says “prepared beforehand.”  There is no more room for the ‘what if’ questions.  There is nothing that we could do to interrupt God’s plan and His timing.  I mean… does it sound ridiculous if Abraham on his little trip started thinking..”Well, was I not a good enough Father… Did I not discipline him enough so now I have to kill him?  If only Sarah hadn’t laughed when she was told she would conceive…”  I mean…who are we that we think we play any role in certain “works which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  We are to walk in His works…even if that means right up the mountain to the altar and sacrificing our most precious possession.  Hmmm…sounds like another story I know about a man walking up a hill and sacrificing HIMSELF!!!—That’s Jesus!  He BECAME suffering for us…he BECAME sin for us so that He would be able to be our ALL…understand ALL of our suffering…all of our pain…we have someone who has been tested in EVERYTHING and was found blameless.  As the Lord gave away His own life—we, too, are called to follow His example.  Perhaps it takes trials to purge ourselves of our flesh.  What does the bible (GOD’s TRUTH) say about these trials? 

Read Romans 5:1-5.

What ‘journey’ is God asking you to take with Him right now?  Are you willing to pack “the knife?”

Today spend some time praying through these scriptures and asking God for peace during this season He has provided for you.

 Day   4

I am constantly feeling undone as a stay at home mother of three small children… I am CONSTANTLY needing patience and sleep and contentment.  All the while finding myself deep down questioning if God will ever come through and provide these things.  Will He EVER provide a peaceful family life, a husband that is home more, children that are respectful and appreciative.  These are all things that I am struggling with—much less those of us who are needing jobs, and cars, and help, and nannies…I mean there are SO many things that we need!!

What are your needs?

What do you think you need?

I can’t help but think on these two questions because sometimes I begin to lose faith in “God the provider” when I’m not seeing him answer my prayers for certain EXACT needs—the exact way I want!  God promises that His word is truth.  Well, I’ve looked all through and in and around the Bible and I can’t find ANYTHING that says my life is promised to be easy, happy, pleasant, and anything less than me needing to rely on my Savior for every day.  I do know that He promises to provide for my needs… that His grace is sufficient for me… that His love is everlasting and unfailing…and the greatest love anyone could give is to lay down one’s life….Christ has done ALL of that for me.  So I KNOW He is answering prayers and providing for me in my best interest.

Can you think of something the Lord has provided for you recently that met your needs but not necessarily in the way you had thought or wanted? Did you see any benefit in that?

Read Psalm 138:7-8.

What does it say the Lord will do? 

This was the God Abraham knew.  A God who would accomplish what concerned [him].  He knew all that God had concerning him and his descendants…therefore…He KNEW God would provide!  This is OUR God, too!  The One and the same. 

I urge you to spend some time in prayer today…..God is always providing and He is true to His word.  His lovingkindness IS everlasting.  As we are traveling up the steep mountain, “walking in the midst of trouble” ….we tend to get sidetracked by the rocks, the heat, the thorns, perhaps our aching feet, but the point is the Lord has called us up this particular mountain unique to OUR own individual purpose for Him and He promises to provide all that we will need to fulfill that purpose.  One life is not going to look the same as another.  We are all bestowed different gifts and are assigned different “roles” in our part for the kingdom.  Let us follow Abraham’s example and continue our climb answering our frets and our worries, our fears and our doubts with nothing more than “God himself will provide.”

Read 1 Thessalonians 5:24.  Write this verse out.  Commit this to memory.

On the third day, Abraham hiked the mountain, bound Isaac to the altar, raised his hand to slay his son and was stopped by God…He looked up and there in the thicket…a ram.. a replacement for his son’s death.  On the third day,  women went to Jesus’ tomb….the stone was rolled away… only “linen wrappings” remained…Jesus had risen…OUR replacement for death…a sacrifice only God, himself, could provide.  This is the God whom we serve– a God who WILL PROVIDE.  This is Jehovah Jireh!

Spend time today in prayer thanking the Lord for His gift of salvation.  Rest in His grace, it is yours sweet child—nothing you have earned, nothing you deserve….just something freely given to you. Rest.