“ No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.” 

1 John 4:12-16

Once as part of a marriage class at church my husband and I took a “love styles” test. The idea of the test was to help each of us better understand how the other expressed love and experienced love. The test revealed that I prefer to give and receive love through physical attention ( hugs, quality time, security/protection) and verbal affirmation (feedback, encouragement, talking things through). My husband is an acts of service and gifts kind of guy; he doesn’t say much, but he’s really good at getting birthday, anniversary, or “just because” gifts, and he greets me with a fresh cup of coffee most mornings.

Because we look for and communicate love differently, we – like many couples – have had some rough seasons in our marriage. We really have to remember to communicate in ways that the other receives well and to learn to look for how the other shows love, even if it’s not the way we prefer.

Sweet friends, learning to recognize God’s expression of love is much like learning to recognize how other people express love – except – we don’t have a list of quiz results that we can read to learn more about who God is and how He expresses love. 

What we do have – which is WAY better than a manmade quiz – is God’s love letter to us, His Holy Word.

Let’s dig into God’s love letter for us by examining a couple of the names God is known by in the Old Testament. We’ve looked at God’s names before, but it’s great to remind ourselves frequently of what they are and what they tell us about who He is and how He loves us.

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Jehovah-Jireh: The Lord Will Provide.

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Jehovah-Jireh, The Lord Will Provide, only appears once in the Bible. Seen in Genesis 22, it was spoken by Abraham when God provided a ram for sacrifice in place of Isaac, Abraham’s only son. 

“Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.’ “ – Genesis 22:13-14

God’s request that Abraham sacrifice his son is one that is difficult for most of us to understand. If you are a parent, you know how incredibly tortured Abraham must have felt faced with choosing to lose his only son or keeping his son and disobeying God. 

You see, Abraham trusted God because He knew God was faithful to provide; he had experienced God’s loving provision before.

God gave Abraham a new name and a promise (Genesis 17). He gave Abraham a son despite how old Abraham and Sarah were, a sign that His promise was true (Genesis 21). Then, God gave Abraham a command and provided Abraham with a way to be obedient to that command, further evidence that He would keep His promise (Genesis 22). 

What does Jehovah-Jireh mean for us?

First, it means that we can look to God’s pattern of provision as evidence of His great love for us, starting with His provision of a lamb just as Abraham stated. 

You see, just as God provided Abraham with a ram to sacrifice on that mountain, God provided a spotless lamb as a sacrifice for us through His Son Jesus Christ.

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’”. – John 1:29

“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” – Romans 8:32

Just as God gave Abraham a new name and a promise, He gives you and me a new name – Son or Daughter of God – and He gives us oh so many promises! But what’s more is that He provides the means to fulfill each and every promise, starting with His promise of salvation made possible through His love and through the love of His Son Jesus Christ. 

Praise God for His perfect provision! Thank You Jesus for being our spotless lamb!