Originally posted: 01/24/2019
This morning I saw Him! I saw Him increase in His Answers. I saw Him as our Answer, the only One suitable, capable, reliable and knowledgeable. He manifests Himself through His Answers.
Consider the following four ways this word, “Answer” (noun), is defined .
- Answer: that which is suitable for satisfying or fulfilling.
- Answer: a response by an act or motion.
- Answer: that which is reliable or dependable.
- Answer: a reply to bring clarity, illumination.
Consider His Answers
His Answers are suitable for satisfying and fulfilling. “These are all the years of Abraham’s life that he lived, one hundred and seventy-five years. 8 Abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe old age, an old man and satisfied with life; and he was gathered to his people,” (25:7). This was God’s fulfillment of His promise made some ninety years prior, “As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age,” (Genesis 15:15).
His Answers are a response, to move and act for the sake of His children. In Genesis 17, Abraham cried out to God, “’Oh that Ishmael might live before You!’…God said, ‘As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation,’” (Genesis 17:18-20). It was for the sake of His servant, Abraham that God responded with this blessing. “Now these are the records of the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s maid, bore to Abraham…16 These are the sons of Ishmael…twelve princes according to their tribes. 17 These are the years of the life of Ishmael, one hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people,” (25:12-17).
His Answers are reliable and dependable to provide in our barrenness and emptiness. “Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived,” (25:21).
His Answers provide clarity and illumination. “But the children struggled together within her; and she said, ‘If it is so, why then am I this way?’ So she went to inquire of the Lord. 23 The Lord said to her…” (25:22-23).
How can we respond to His Answers?
- He alone is capable of fulfilling and satisfying our every desire. Let us find all our satisfaction in Him alone, and trust all the other things to Him.
- But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you, (Matthew 6:33).
- He is the One, Who by His grace, acts to draw people to Himself. Because of Abraham, Ishmael received blessings; but they were temporal. Let us commit to intercede for our loved ones, persistent in our pleading that they might have the greatest blessing available, life with the LORD for all eternity.
- For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, (Titus 2:11).
- He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life, (1 John 5:12).
- He alone is completely reliable; we can always trust that He is working to fulfill His purposes. In our times of emptiness, let us run to Him and pour out our hearts before Him, convinced He always hears. When we become so distraught and our words don’t seem to form, when we don’t even know what to pray, we can rest in His faithfulness, believing His Answers are on the way!
- “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear,” (Isaiah 65:4).
- He is the Omniscient, All-Knowing One. Let us go to Him when in need of understanding and illumination. Rebekah surely did not understand all the LORD told her. He chose to disclose His sovereign plan, and it was now her choice to trust Him with all her questions. We will never fully understand all He is doing, but let’s continue to ask Him for faith to trust Him with every detail of our lives, especially the parts that seem hidden in darkness.
- Who is among you that fears the Lord, that obeys the voice of His servant, that walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God, (Isaiah 50:10).
His Answers are there for us. Let us be diligent to seek them. When we see His Answers… we see Him!