If you could name the season in life, in regards to your faith, that you are in, what would you name it? Think about that for a second, before reading on. Would you name it faith? Fear? Disbelief? Disobedience? Surrender? Name it…
There is this occurrence that happens in my house quite a bit. Things just happen to “appear”. They appear on my tables, they appear in my children’s clothing drawers, the kitchen cabinets, the fridge, my closets… you know, kind of anywhere in my house. Sometimes what appears is liked, and sometimes it isn’t. And side note: I know where these things come from, but it always seems to appear out of nowhere, and although I constantly say to my husband Where did this come from? Ultimately, I actually know.
When the bow in in the clouds, then I will look upon it, to remember… Genesis 9:16
A few days ago apparently there was a rainbow in the sky. My friend sent me a picture of it because she knows my obsession with rainbows, and she was hoping that I had seen it, although I hadn’t. It was strange because it wasn’t exactly rainbow weather because it hadn’t rained, but it was there. It kind of just appeared… you know, kind of like the things in my house kind of just appear!
If you have been following my blog for awhile you know that I love rainbows. To me they are a reminder of God’s covenant with Noah, one that still stands today. It is the covenant that says that when God sees the rainbow in the clouds, He will remember the eternal covenant that He made with every living creature on earth.
Remember that, this will tie in together in a minute.
He looked up and saw the place in the distance… Genesis 22:4
One day I will stop writing about Abraham and Isaac, but today is not that day. Because there is something more here we need to see.
After the angel of the Lord stops Abraham from sacrificing Isaac, his only son, Abraham looked up and behind him was a ram caught in the thicket by his horns. Abraham offered up the ram in place of his son, and called the name of that place “the Lord Will Provide”.
Our translations translate the place “The Lord will provide”, but the Hebrew word used here for provide is ra’ah. And it is the same word that is used when God “sees” the rainbow in the sky. When Abraham raises his eyes and “sees” the place in the distance that he was to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, and the word used when he raises his eyes and “sees” the ram in the thicket.
The word means to look at, to see, to inspect, to perceive, to consider, and another added translation means to “make appear” (you know, kind of like the things that just appear in my house, a rainbow in the cloud when there is no rain, and a ram in a thicket!).
The Lord Will See. The Lord Will Make Appear.
He is the God who sees. He is the God who remembers His promises. And not only is He the God who sees… He is the God who sees you. He saw Abraham’s faith. He saw his obedience. He saw that Abraham wasn’t going to withhold even his beloved son.
And in response to Abraham’s faith, there was the ram. Now, I can’t imagine the ram was there when Abraham arrived at the place he was to sacrifice Isaac. Because if it was there, I am pretty sure Abraham would have seen it. Rams are not small animals. I just googled it, and rams can get up to over 900 lbs! And let me tell you, no matter what is on my mind, if there is a 900 lb. anything caught in a thicket… I will see it, ESPECIALLY if it is what I believe to be what I think God will provide.
Where are your eyes fixed?
Abraham had his eyes fixed on what God had before him. What was before him was a place of sacrifice, an altar. He saw it, he had to have been considering it the entire journey, because it I was him, I would be!
If God was like Go sacrifice your daughter, and as she was walking with me to “the place” I was to offer her as a sacrifice, as she is asking me Mom where is the sacrifice for the offering?… all the while knowing that the sacrifice was actually her… you bet I would be considering this the entire time. Walking in obedience, yet looking for the promise I hoped would be there, wondering when and how God was going to come through, and mustering up just enough faith to believe it, and to keep putting one foot in front of the other.
And God would see me in that place.
And He sees you in the place you are in. He sees your hurt, He sees your pain. He sees your questions, and uncertainties. He sees your deepest struggle, He sees your faith and obedience, and the motivation behind your actions. Plain and simple, He sees your heart, and as the good God He is, acts in accordance to the condition of your heart.
My friends, the promise wasn’t provided as Abraham’s eyes were fixed on the promise, but as his eyes were fixed on God. And when there is ever a question if God will be where He leads me, may my response be like Abraham to Isaac when he asked his father where the offering was for the sacrifice.
The Lord will…
He said The Lord will provide. But in the Hebrew translation it says The Lord will ra’ah. In other words, the Lord will make appear. Just as the things appear in my house, just as the rainbow appears in the sky, and just like the ram appeared in the thicket.
Abraham lived before Jesus, but this is such a reflection of the cross. A life following Christ should always be a walk of faith, a walk of obedience, and a walk of sacrifice. It is a life where our eyes need to be always fixed on Jesus. On the Cross. On His precious sacrifice. And when you your eyes are fixed on the cross, God will see you.
And you will look back, believing in Him, and able to call the place you are in “The Lord Has Seen”.
