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The Ram

Do you remember the Bible story about Abraham, Isaac, and the amazing sacrifice? It looked like God was going to let Abraham sacrifice his only son. The altar was built and laid with wood for the fire. Isaac was tied and positioned on the altar. Abraham had his knife in the air, ready to kill him. But then the Bible says Abraham heard a voice from heaven telling him not to harm the boy. And in that moment Genesis 22:13, ESV says, "Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns."

Did you catch that? The ram's horns were snagged in a bush. It couldn't get free and run off. And it's my guess it was making some kind of noise, too, bleating or thrashing about so that Abraham not only heard the voice from heaven, but also heard something else. He turned his head ever so slightly and saw something out of the corner of his eye. Something God had put there to provide for Abraham's need before Abraham even knew to look for it.

How wonderful that reminder of the ram. Too often on the roller coaster of unemployment our focus gets skewed. We turn our eyes and attention away from God's greatness and find ourselves staring at the storm, turning away from God's presence and focusing on fear, grasping at straws while all along God has already provided the sacrifice--the ram in the bush behind us. Yet God, in His kindness, recognizes our weaknesses. God made us and knows us better than we know ourselves. So He gives you and me something to relieve the fear, solve the problem, calm the storm, provide for the need...and He does it in such a way that, even if it is behind us, we can't miss it.

So, in the middle of this day when I don't know which way to go, I'll once again pray: Thank you, Lord, for the reminder. Thank you for forgiving my faulty focus. And thank you for providing my ram and helping me hear it, see it, and appropriate it. Amen.

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