Genesis 22:14 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."
Wow, for a while as I read Smith's commentary here, I thought he was going to join the parade of people who believe God has promised to provide everything we need, that the good Christian will have all of his or her needs met. Then at the end, he says this: have we forgotten that often we ourselves are the 'rams' caught in the thicket-whom God has provided to meet the needs of those suffering in our midst?"
I agree with Smith that this text does have a focus on the importance of God as provider. Certainly God is our provider, capable of providing anything we need. He met our greatest need, for a Savior, for redemption from our sin debt, when he gave his son's life in place of ours. God is the provider. But just because he is the provider, we cannot blackmail him into providing everything we think we need or want.
My husband has this saying: ability does not equate with necessity. Just because you can does not mean that you should do something.
So, just because God could do something, provide something, does not mean he should do either. Sometimes he wants me to be feet and hands to someone's need. Sometimes, I do believe, he wants me to show others I believe God is good even when he doesn't provide what I or anyone else might think I need.
Assuredly, he is the God who provides, but when he doesn't, he is no less the provider. He is, instead, providing something we may not understand until eternity. Faith calls us to trust him, even in the face of unmet needs....else faith means nothing.
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