He’s Still The Sovereign God…My Provider

Abraham and Isaac Climbing Mount Moriah, image courtesy of rootsoffaith.org

The other night, I was praying and as it often happens (no, I didn’t fall asleep), the Holy Spirit reminded me that God is:

1. Sovereign
2. The Lord Who Provides

I began to think about this dynamic in which God gives grace:

“Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: ‘He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us’? But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, ‘GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.’”¹

God gives grace, independently of me; it’s His choosing! And yet, in His choosing, He provides grace to complete me.

Abraham referred to God as “Jehovah-jireh”, because God provided a substitute for Isaac. It occurred to me that as God provides, He substitutes grace in the place of what I want. It’s incumbent upon me to humbly surrender to His purpose and will for me.

In my mind, I may be scaling my own Mount Moriah, thinking I am obeying God’s command. When I arrive at the summit, the place where my prayers meet God’s grace, I discover that it’s not my prayer that changes God, but God’s grace which is purposed to change me.

Abraham was never the same after this Mount Moriah experience.

Do I scale Mount Moriah expecting God to provide or am I intent on completing my agenda?

I’ll never see grace as God’s provision through the blinded eyes of my own arrogance.

Throughout scripture, we can find instances of men and women who humbled themselves before the mighty hand of God and experienced the outpouring of His grace.

Instead of telling God what I want, I will ask Him: What shall I do?

I’ll expect God to provide His grace in my time of need.

“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”²

Note: This post is linked to Spiritual Sundays (hosted by Charlotte).

Footnotes:

1. James 4:5-6, NASB
2. Hebrews 4:16, NASB

References:

1. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, By James B. Strong, S.T.D, LL.D., Riverside Book and Bible House, Iowa Falls, Iowa 50126
2. The Ryrie Study Bible (New American Standard Version), Edited by Charles C. Ryrie, Moody Publishers, Chicago, Illinois, ISBN 0-8024-8920-6
3. The NIV Study Bible, Edited by Kenneth Barker, Donald Burdick, John Stek, Walter Wessel and Ronald Youngblood, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530, USA
4. Matthew Henry's Commentary, McDonald Publishing Company, McLean, Virginia 22101, ISBN 0-917006-21-6