The Names of God - Jehovah Jireh

Jehovah Jireh - God Is My Provider

Why am I writing about the names of God? 
Jehovah Jireh (God is my Provider) was a name given to God by Abraham.  I'll be honest right now and say that I don't think I fully understand all of the idiosyncrasies behind the story of Abraham getting this revelation of God as his provider.  A simple perspective:  Abraham was a rich man, blessed by God.  But God wanted to test Abraham, and in that test He asked Abraham to give up - relinquish - the most valuable thing in his life.  Abraham obediently complied.  Right at the moment when God knew Abraham was going to be completely obedient and faithful, God stopped him and provided a replacement.  In that provision, Abraham saw God as Jehovah Jireh. I believe this sequence of events meant more to both of them than I'll ever know.

In My Life...

In my life, my perspective on God's provision has been the source of some of my greatest challenges and victories.  God's timing and method of provision didn't always line up to my expectations.  In one specific instance, that turned into a bitter disappointment for me which you can read about here.  Many other times, He provided for me ahead of time, before I knew what was coming or what to ask for.  You can read about many of these stories on the links on this page.  I'll chronicle some additional ones below.

Teaching at SAIT

After various experiences with piano teachers growing up, I always thought I'd make a good teacher.  However, I never had the opportunity to get a degree.  After a decade of working on printing presses, God directed my wife and I to make a major career change, and that offered broader opportunities that surprised me.  

A couple of years after this career change, I was riding public transit to work and saw an advert for a software development course at the local technical college.  On a whim (God's direction, no doubt), I thought I'd email them and see if they needed any instructors.  That email got forwarded to the coordinator for the department who ended up being a software teacher of mine from the past.  He offered me an opportunity on the spot, and I ended up teaching at the Southern Alberta Institue of Technology for 14 years and I loved it!  God's provision in my career!

Southern Alberta Institute of Technology
Heritage Hall

A Missed Flight

In September 2022 my wife and I flew to Poland for a short holiday and family trip (my wife grew up in Poland).  It was our first time travelling after the Covid lockdowns, and airports and airlines still had Covid protocol that everyone was required to follow.  On our return trip, some passengers didn't want to follow protocol and made our flight from Krakow to Frankfurt late.  We ran through the Frankfurt airport to catch our connecting flight back home, and saw it still at the gate.  However the airline had cancelled our boarding passes because they knew our baggage wouldn't make the flight.  It was pretty disheartening to see the plane we were supposed to be seated on leaving the gate without us.  

God, however, provided through the airline for us to stay overnight in Frankfurt for on the airline's dime.  And we had enough time to take a taxi into downtown and actually be tourists there for several hours - a city both of us had never previously explored.  It was a great surprise mini-adventure for us at the end of our time away, and we took full advantage of God's provision there.

Selfies in downtown Frankfurt

For he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.  Proverbs 2:8

Other Names of God Significant to me..

• El Roi - God Sees Me
• Jehovah Shalom - God is my Peace
• Elohim Shomri - God is my Protector
• Emmanuel - God with Us
• Jehovah Rapha - God our Healer