Jehovah Jireh, My Provider
ICS Daily Devotions
Deuteronomy 8:12-13, 17-18 (NKJV) lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; … then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ “And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
Do you know that many of us have the same mentality as the Israelites mentioned in this passage? It is a problem when we begin to think that we have gained power and wealth with our own hands. Our hearts are lifted up when life is good and we begin to think that we have no need for God, that we can do whatever we like because we have money at our disposal, and nobody dares to speak into our lives. It is an issue with God when we are proud and begin to trust in Mammon more than God and begin to idolise money. We have elevated ourselves above God. Pride causes us to depart from God.
In order to stay humble, we need to look to God and acknowledge that He is a faithful provider and the one who blesses. We read in the Bible from the time of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to Abraham, Job, Joseph, Daniel and his friends, King David and King Solomon that it was God who blessed them. God was the source of their blessings and provision. This knowledge kept them humble before God. God is consistent in the Old Testament and the New Testament in ensuring that His people are well-provided for and blessed. When the Israelites entered the promised land, they were well-provided for because it was a land flowing with milk and honey. God had to remind them that the blessings and prosperity they were enjoying were due to their God-given power and ability to get wealth. God gave them the power and ability to prosper because He was fulfilling His covenant obligations promised to Abraham and their forefathers.
The problem is that not many Christians believe that God is able to grant us wisdom and the power to be successful. We don’t believe that it is God who gives us the wisdom, favour and abilities to do well in the marketplace, and we are afraid that we will fall out of favour with our bosses if we do not compromise by working accordingly their values. However, we need to fully acknowledge that God is the source of our provision. He is Jehovah Jireh, our provider, and if we are convinced that God has the ability to prosper us, then we do not need to compromise with the world and its values.
Sermon Series: Seriously?
