The Provider of Love & Belonging
“The Lord God said, “It is not good for the
man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18).
Many
people in the world are looking for love in all the wrong places. They try to
compensate their lack of receiving love by jumping from bed to bed, drugs,
alcohol, watching pornography, binge eating and various other destructive
activities. Unfortunately, those who are using these methods to replace what
they lack have missed the true source of love. Love comes from Jehovah Jireh. A
person cannot truly understand what love is until one gets to know the Author
and Provider of it. The Bible says, “And so we know and rely on the love God has
for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him” (1
John 4: 16). Because God is love, there is a need to know and
understand Him. Many people suffer from the displacement of love, and
therefore, it causes them to become cold, uncompassionate, and indifferent to
the needs of others. However, by knowing and being in God, we can have an
understanding of how to treat and be towards one another. The Bible says, “Dear
friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves
has been born of God and knows God” (1 John 4:7-8).
For
many in the world, love has been reduced to a “feel good” ideology. If you do
what I want, then I will love you in return. However, Jehovah Jireh’s love is
unconditional. He loves us even when we are undeserving of it. The Bible says, “We
loved because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
We wouldn’t know to love God if He had
not loved us first. We couldn’t possibly know how to love each other unless we
experienced the love of God first. So what does the Bible have to say about the
definition of love? The Bible says, ”Love is patients, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with
the truth. It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres. Love
never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will case; where there are
tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge it will pass away” (1
Corinthians 13:4-8). Let’s break down this verse and understand the
love Jehovah Jireh has and provides for His children.
Love is Patient
Jehovah Jireh is patient with His
children. He does not give us the punishment that we deserve for being
disobedient to Him right when we do it. He waits patiently and longs
for us to be reconciled to Him. He gives us warning after warning to turn from
our wicked ways and come to Him. This is the love that He shows towards His
children, so that we may experience His love in completeness. The Bible says, “The
Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is
patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to
repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
Love is not Envious
Jehovah Jireh is not envious of His
creation. He is not jealous “of” His creation, but jealous “for” His creation.
There is nothing that we have that God would be envious of. However, He is a
jealous God in the way that a father is jealous for his children. What is this
jealousy? Jehovah Jireh wants to provide the best for His children, but when we
stray away from Him, it leads us into sin. Therefore, because He does not wish
for His children to be bound by sin, He is jealous for us to remain close to
Him. The Bible says, “Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is
a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14). Jehovah Jireh always wants the best for
His children and that best is to be pure without the stain of sin that holds us
bound and promises death. The enemy wants to destroy God’s children, but
Jehovah Jireh wants to give us life. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that
he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but
have eternal life” (John 3:16). Where man becomes envious because of
what someone has, Jehovah Jireh is jealous because of what He wants to GIVE.
Love does not Boast
People can sometimes boast on their
accomplishments in a manner that can make others feel incompetent. There is
nothing wrong in taking pride in a job well-done, but the intent behind a
boastful attitude can be one of arrogance if not submitted to the Lord. Paul
boasted about his afflictions, not in the way that the world boasts, but in the
manner that the Spirit of God, who dwelt in Him, would receive the glory. The
Bible says, ”I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do then
receive me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. In
this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool Since
many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast. You gladly put
up with fools since you are so wise! If I must boast, I will boast, I will
boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord
Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying” (2 Corinthians
11:16-19, 30-31). Love is not boastful to put others down, but if we
are to boast, we do so as a testament of uplifting God, and in doing so, we
show the Love of Jehovah Jireh.
Love is not Proud
Jehovah Jireh is a God of humility. He
does not like pride because in pride, there is no way to display His loving
kindness. The Bible says, “The Lord detests all the proud of heart.
Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished” (Proverbs 16:5). Pride
was the downfall of Lucifer. He became wrapped up in his beauty and allowed
himself to think that he was better than his Creator. As a result of his lack
of humility, he and the angels who sided with him were kicked out of Heaven. The
Bible says, “Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted
your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a
spectacle of you before kings” (Ezekiel 28:17). Therefore, we can learn
from what happened to the devil that we must remain in total humility before Jehovah
Jireh as well as display it with others, because God’s love is never prideful.
Love is not Easily Angered
Jehovah Jireh does not anger easy, but He
shows His constant love to us. We have constantly rebelled against Him and yet,
He has shown us love even when we have saddened and angered Him by being
disobedient. We too are not to be easily angered, but to show love to others as
an act of God’s love. The Bible says, “In your anger do not sin. Do not let the
sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold” (Ephesians
4:26-27). This does not mean that you will never be angry, but we are
to not to allow our emotions to make us sin against God and others.
Love doesn’t keep a record of Wrong
Jehovah Jireh is a God of forgiveness. He
provides forgiveness to all who ask for it. Human beings often tend to remember
all the wrong that someone does, but God throws it into the bottom of the sea
never to be found again. The Bible says, “You will again have compassion on us; you
will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of
the sea” (Micah 7:19). All we have to do is confess our sins to God and
He will forgive. He keeps no records of wrong if we truly seek His forgiveness.
Love hates evil but loves Truth
Jehovah Jireh provides His children with truth
for in Him all truth is found. He cannot lie and therefore, we can be confident
in His matchless love. We show love by obeying the word of God and in so doing,
we are able to love one another. The Bible says, “And this is love that we walk
in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command
is that you walk in love” (2 John 6). Evil cannot stand in the presence
of God and this was why Lucifer had to be kicked out of Heaven. Jehovah Jireh
is the Provider of Truth whereas the devil can only spew out lies because there
is no truth in him. The Bible says, “You belong to your father, the devil, and
you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the
beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he
lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John
8:44).
Love Protects
Jehovah Jireh provides protection for
those who belong to Him. Some may interpret this as to say that no harm will
ever come to their physical bodies. However, that is not always the case.
Jehovah Jireh’s protection sometimes mean that He will safeguard your spirit
even when the physical body is encountering persecution. The Bible says, “We
are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned; stuck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians
4:8-9). Jehovah Jireh will keep us spiritually strong despite those who
may persecute us physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually. Love protects
while hate destroys.
Love Trusts
Jehovah Jireh provides us with Trust in
Him. We can be sure that he will never lie or deceive us in any way. He is the
one person with whom we can have complete and total trust in. He never
disappoints as man is prone to do. The Bible says, “Trust in the Lord with all your
heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6). Jehovah Jireh
provides us with the means to trust Him and in so doing, shows us a model for
the way we are to be trusting in others.
Love Hopes
Jehovah Jireh provides His children with
hope. When you have you, you can have peace and joy despite whatever obstacles
may come your way. This is done by putting and faith and trust in God. The
Bible says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in
him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans
15:13). All of our hope is to be in Jehovah Jireh and we can offer hope
to others as an act of love for those who may not see that any hope exists.
Love Perseveres
Jehovah Jireh provides His children with
the ability to persevere in Him. So many Christians are being persecuted in
other countries, but they are remaining firm in God. How is that? It is only
through Jehovah Jireh that they can stand strong during the worst of times.
Therefore, they will receive a great reward in the end for persevering and
showing their love for God. The Bible says, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under
trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life
that God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:13).
Love Never Fails
Jehovah Jireh is the God of Love. He
provides us with all the love that we will ever need through Him. His love is
enduring, and it never fails. Where people fail and have conditions on their
love, Jehovah Jireh’s love remains constant. The Bible says, “Give
thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1).
Jehovah Jireh provides Healthy Relationships
Jehovah Jireh knew that man would need
companionship, so He created a world where people would be able to thrive in
their relationships with each other. This is why it is important to understand
the love that He provides, so that we can show who He is to one another.
Friend
of God –“I no longer call you servants,
because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called
you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to
you” (John 15:15).
Friend
in each other – “A man of many companions
may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs
18:24).
Husband
and Wife –”Wives, submit to
your husbands as to the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved
the church and gave himself up for her…” (Ephesians 5:22,25).
Jehovah
Jireh is the Provider of Love and loving relationships. It is important to place
our trust in Him and allow Him to guide us. No one can truly understand and be
open to receive love unless they know the Provider of it.
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