Jehovah Jireh, my Provider

‘Jehovah Jireh’ – the Lord will provide. 

I can once again attest to that truth. The Lord has provided in a very specific way this past month, and I am grateful. Yesterday, I picked up the spare keys to my home from the last worker who needed access.

But that’s the end of the story. Let me backtrack……

Problem 1 – the bath

It was a long overdue renovation.

The problem was the shower over the bath. 

For starters, one had to step up and over the bath to access the shower, which wasn’t ideal, especially as my friends, who sometimes stay with me, are ageing. I was okay with it, of course. I’m not ageing … much … right?

Second, the tiled walls weren’t exactly keeping the moisture out, as evidenced by the mushrooms that would grow from the grout in summer. I didn’t mind mushrooms. It was quite satisfying to pluck them off. It was the termites that were the real problem, and apparently they had been attracted by the moisture. 

Third, the cold tap would burst off the wall from time to time with a great deal of pent up energy. I would explain to guests that they needn’t panic. They need simply pick up the bits (tap, spring and central doodad) and stick them all back on, then turn the tap off. Nobody was ever injured since the taps were some distance from the shower. 

And finally, the enamel on the old iron bath was looking pretty bad. Forty or more years of regular use had taken its toll.

Solution 1 – shower / pantry

Actually, it was better than a solution. It was a massive improvement. 

A wonderful handyman, a friend of friends, had suggested that I put in a small shower, and turn what was currently empty space over the bath into a kitchen pantry. That meant adding a small extra wall in the bathroom, and replacing another bit of wall with a sliding door opening into the adjacent kitchen. 

But how much would it cost? That was the real question.

“It all depends,” explained the handyman. “It depends on what we find under the bath and behind the walls.”

Right……..

I’m staying with family during lockdown (again), so it was a good time to get the work done. 

Problem 2 – money

Before long, it became apparent that my savings would be inadequate. 

What was behind the walls? A very great mess of power lines, gas lines, water pipes and lots of dust. 

What was under the bath? Absolutely nothing. Literally. Once the bath had been removed, one could stand on the soil under the house. I needed a whole new section of floor. Timber is apparently like gold at the moment due to supply issues. Uh oh.

Furthermore, it seems that part of the electrical wiring was dangerous, illegal and essentially invalidated my insurance in case of electrical faults. 

“Just take your problems to the one who has all power,” the preacher said that Sunday, in the context of a sermon about a faith-filled official in Jesus’ day.

So I did. I walked and I prayed and I laid out the issues before the One who sees.

Solution 2 – money 

In the space of a week, I received an unexpected gift AND an unexpected payment. Incredible!

This is an unexpected blessing, I reasoned. Surely I need not tithe this extra income. That was a Tuesday evening. 

On the Wednesday morning, on Zoom, some Chinese ladies and I studied Luke 6:38 in our weekly simple English Bible study. 

Give, and it will be given to you. A good amount will be poured into your lap. It will be pressed down, shaken together, and running over. The same amount you give will be measured out to you.

Luke 6:38 NIRV

One of the ladies in the group had grown up in a rural setting. Better than me, she understood the context in which Jesus gave this instruction. “It’s just like me giving a wooden box of rice to my neighbour. When she returns it, she doesn’t return exactly the same amount. No, she shakes the box so as to fit in the maximum amount of rice. Even so, the box is so full that it overflows into my lap.” 

I was convicted.

Immediately our study finished, I made a donation as the tithe of that extra income for the month.

That very afternoon, I received yet another payment, this time a reimbursement for claims I had submitted some time earlier. Yes, it was as much as I had tithed and a little bit more.

Jehovah Jireh – he provided the money that was needed AND the tithe! 

Problem 3 – tiles

I had to choose tiles for the shower walls and pantry floor. Because of lockdown, I could only browse online, though I did go to a local store to collect some samples. I later returned to the store to discuss details with a salesperson and return the samples, then put in my order.

The handyman wasn’t impressed with my choices. To put it bluntly, I didn’t have a clue what I was doing. The size was wrong, the colour was wrong, and it seems I had paid WAY too much. 

Solution 3 – tiles

But guess what? The tile shop completely messed up my order. 

First, they forgot to put in the transfer papers so, although my order had been prepared, it had not been shipped to our local store. I waited, waited, and waited some more, and finally chased it up. 

Then even after they did ship it, they got confused about where it was. It was on a truck on its way to me, I was told. No, it was not, it was still at the main depot, I was informed later that day. The handyman needed the tiles. It was apparent that nobody quite knew where my order was in the system.

And so I cancelled the order. 

The shop manager apologised profusely and processed a refund.

I called around several other local tile stores and found one which had in stock the sort of tiles I now understood I needed. The tiles were half the price of those I had originally ordered.

The handyman was still not impressed with my choice of floor tiles for the kitchen pantry, but he had something suitable stashed under his house which he kindly gave me.

Jehovah Jireh – the Lord even provided the tiles for the job. And at a fair price. 

Jehovah Jireh – God sees

In the Bible, the name ‘Jehovah Jireh’ actually refers to a place rather than to God himself. The name ‘Jehovah’ refers to God, while the word ‘Jireh’ actually means ‘God sees.’

The term was first used in the context of a life-and-death situation. It was a long and awful story. (See Genesis 22 and Hebrews 11:17-19 for more details.)  

In my case, the odds were a lot smaller.

Either way, God sees.

That doesn’t mean that I should go ahead and commit to projects without a care for how the bills will be paid. We are not to put the Lord our God to the test.

Nor does it mean that God will always make our life comfortable. 

Yet in this brief tale of my lockdown renovations, I want to attest to God’s kindness, generosity and faithfulness. To the dollar, he has provided. Again. 

Jehovah Jireh.

And now it’s time to organise my pantry!