Promise 59 Gen. 22:8

Gen. 22:8 - "Abraham said, 'God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.' So the two of them walked on together. " We know this whole passage is prophetic associating the sacrificial lamb with Jesus. God said He will provide a lamb, and He did. He also provided a ram to take the place of Isaac. God is the provider, He will provide all things and people which will lead us to salvation, when He clearly directs us into the path of potential danger, He will provide, Himself, that which will keep us safe and keeps us into His arms. He is our provider.

Promise 58 Gen. 22:1

Gen. 22:1 - "Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, 'Abraham!' and he said, "Here I am,' God calls us out at times to do a "passion check." Because He is a jealous God, He's jealous to spend time with us, He doesn't want to share our devotion, He will test to see where our passions lie. It is so easy to live a life that is passionate about doing things for God that we forget about being passionate about Him. We have a tendency to put so many other things before Him such as our jobs, education, family, leisure activities and things. For most people in the western world and beyond the TV gets to much more attention than God does. Sometimes God needs to go to drastic measures in order to get our attention back on Him and to re-direct our devotion and passion toward Him. Maybe we need to offer up and sacrifice those things that are difficult to give up, so as to have the time to focus on Him.

Promise 57 Gen. 21:22

Gen. 21:22 - "Now it came about at that time that Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, 'God is with you in all that you do!" Even though we know God is with us in all we do, sometimes we just need to hear someone tell us those words, to encourage us. And maybe we need that reminder to refresh us, to re-set our focus so to speak. When we see the hand of God on someone, we should tell them! Encourage someone today and I pray someone will encourage you too.

Promise 56 Gen. 21:19

Gen. 21:19 - "Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the skin with water and gave the lad a drink." god opened Hagar's eyes, so she could see the blessing that was sitting right in front of her. That well was there the whole time but she couldn't see it because she was so focused on the desperateness of her situation; on her problems, Often times the solution and relief to our problems is right in front of us, we just need to shift our focus to the Lord and say, "Lord, where is the blessing in all of this?" He will open our eyes to see it. Where God is, blessings are, so we know they are there. Lord show us the blessings in our day today! Thank you!

Promise 55 Gen. 21:17-18

Gen. 21: 17-18 - "God hear the lad crying ; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, 'What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him.'" God hears the cries of those we cry for. He is a compassionate God. Sometimes we feel we have to beg God to attend to the needs of others, God knows exactly what is going on in their hearts too. The angel told Hagar that God heard him right where he is at. He will meet people right where they are and right where we are. We just need to continue crying out to Him on behalf of those who can not cry out to Him on their own.

Promise 54 Gen. 21:13

Gen. 21:13 - "And of the son of the maid I will make a nation also, because he is your descendant." God has assured Abraham that he wouldn't have to worry about Ismael, a year before Isaac was born, but at this time of difficult decisions, he needed to hear that assurance again. Sometimes we forget the assurances God gives us. When stress arises it's easy to get caught up in the moment. But God is faithful, He will remind us of His promises, presence and provision in the midst of those stressful times, we just need to make sure we quiet our hearts long enough to receive those comforting words from Him.

Promise 53 Gen. 21:12

Gen. 21:12 - "But God said to Abraham, 'Do not be distressed because of the lad and your maid; whatever Sarah tells you, listen to her, for through Isaac your descendants shall be named." Abraham was distressed, his wife was telling him to send away his first born son and his maid, He didn't know what to do. God spoke to Him in the midst of his stressful time. He gave the solution to the problem. The solution wasn't an easy one, but it was the right one. God will help us when we are stuck and don't know what to do. He may ask us to follow through with the most uncomfortable choice but it will be the right one if God says to do it. Guaranteed, there were those around Abraham that thought he was crazy sending away the first born and probably thought that to be cruel of him. This will happen, people wont understand, but we must choose to take God's guidance and even though they are tough choices we can rest assure that He has all the details sorted.