“God always has a ram in the bush.” A sister in Christ said that to me recently, reaffirming her trust in the Lord. It’s a funny phrase that means nothing to those outside the faith but communicates a great deal to those who understand both the story behind it and the implications of it. In whatever impossible situations we find ourselves, God can provide a way if we will just believe.
The Original Story
The phrase comes from Genesis 22 and the story of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. This would be traumatic for any father. But for Abraham, this was an especially tough test. He had just spent 25 years waiting for the promise of a son by his wife, Sarah, to be fulfilled, and now that his son was here, God was asking him to give him up.
Still, Abraham wasted no time on anger or even sorrow. Instead, he simply took his son and departed to Mt. Moriah to the place where God directed him. Isaac carried the wood, and Abraham brought the knife and the fire. It was about that time that Isaac, probably at least a teenager by this time, noticed something was missing. Where was the sacrifice?
“And Abraham said, ‘My son, God will provide Himself a lamb for a burnt offering:’ so they went both of them together.”
Genesis 22:8
When they got to the exact place where God told him to go, Abraham bound his son and lifted his knife. He knew that God had already promised him that a great nation would come through Isaac. Even if God required him to go through with the sacrifice, He would not go back on His promise. Whatever happened on that mountain, Abraham trusted God and believed he could raise his son again (Romans 4:20-21).
Then just before he brought down the knife, God called his name. Abraham had passed the test. He would withhold nothing from God, even his precious son. Now God was ready to show him the provision He had already made. There was a ram in the bush for Abraham and Isaac to sacrifice. Later, Abraham would call the place Jehovah Jireh, The Lord Will Provide.
The Ram in the Bush
Life comes with challenges, and sometimes there are tests and trials we must endure. The ram in the bush represents God’s provision for us in response to our faith. It’s when God supplies things that we have no way of obtaining for ourselves, just because we believe that He will. The odds of a ram getting caught in a thicket at the exact time and place Abraham and Isaac needed it are so low that they defy probability. Finding one on their own would have been time-consuming with no guarantees. But God already had a plan in motion even before they arrived on the scene. God provided Himself a lamb for the sacrifice, foreshadowing Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross some 2,000 years later. In fact, many Christian traditions hold that the site of sacrifice on Mt. Moriah was the very hill of Calvary.
In a Moment, Everything Changed
The Bible is filled with stories of God’s providence in response to faith. One moment, everything seemed dark and hopeless, but the next, God intervened and supernaturally changed everything.
- One moment, Moses faced a sea in front of him and Pharaoh’s army behind, but he lifted his staff. The next, God parted the waters, allowing the Israelites to cross the sea on dry ground while the army felt the waves crash back together again.
- One moment, there was hunger in the desert, but Moses prayed. The next God sent manna from Heaven. Then there was thirst, but Moses prayed again. Then God made a way for the bitter waters of Mara to be made sweet.
- One moment, Gideon, Jehoshephat, and Gideon faced armies too great for their forces, but they marched into battle. Next, God fought for them and won great victories for Israel.
- One moment, Daniel and the three Hebrew children faced death for their loyalty to God in not worshipping idols, but they refused to bow. Next, God shut the mouths of lions and stopped the flames from harming even the three boys’ clothing.
- One moment, Paul and Silas were shut up in prison for preaching the Gospel, but they sang praises to God. Next, God sent an earthquake to loose them from their chains so they could lead the jailer and his family to salvation.
- One moment, there was only hunger and a boy’s small picnic given in faith. The next, Jesus fed 5,000 men, besides women and children, with 12 baskets of fragments collected at the end of the meal.
- One moment, there was an issue of blood, a woman with a bent spine, a paralyzed man, lepers, blind men, a demoniac, a possessed boy, a dead son, a dead daughter, and a man dead for four days. But there was faith. The next moment, there was healing, deliverance, and resurrection from the dead.
Over and over in the Bible, when people are at the end of themselves, with nothing they can do to make their situations better, they trusted in God to make a way – and He did!
But What About Today?
God’s people are still God’s people.
“Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward.”
Job 5:7
It’s natural for sparks to fly upward because that’s what they do. Likewise, people are prone to trouble. We’re born into it as an inheritance from original sin, and our transgressions “fly out” of our fallen nature just as naturally as bits of burning material are carried from a fire on hot currents of air. In fact, our sins and troubles are the only things we can truly call our own, as the Bible says that all good things come from God (James 1:17).
And God Is Still God
“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.”
2 Chronicles 16:9
God is still looking for those who have faith. He wants to make a way where there is no way.
That lost job can be devastating, but God may have a better one waiting for you. A marriage may be strained right now, but a breakthrough is on the horizon. Your children may be lost in sin today, but tomorrow holds the promise of the prodigal’s return. The Accuser may yell in our ear that God doesn’t see our situation or care, but he is a liar! We serve the living God who created everything, sustains everything, and controls everything. He rewards those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6), promises to answer prayers prayed in faith (Mark 11:24), and removes obstacles when we believe that He will (Mark 11:23).
In A Moment, Everything Can Change
When Christians say, “God always has a ram in the bush,” they mean that they have faith in God to provide for whatever situation they may face. Luck is a lie, and miracles are beyond our capability, but in Mark 11:22, Jesus told us plainly to “Have faith in God.” All things – not just some things or a few things – all things are possible to those who believe (Mark 10:27). When tests and trials come our way, and situations are beyond our control, that’s when we need to start looking for the ram in the bush.
P.S. He’ll Make a Way
I made this video about 4 years ago with a song from church and videos I found in IMovie. It’s the only song I have ever tried to make a video like this for, and I had NO IDEA that I would ever use it in a blog, much less a blog about how God prepares a way ahead of time. That’s just God!
Like to look closer at Scripture? Try 2 Kings 18: When the Enemy Offers to Leave You Alone. Or, try Exodus Is a Type of Salvation: A Lesson in Responsibility. Please sign up to receive my blog in your email inbox. You can find that at the upper right of your screen (or at the bottom on a phone). Also, check out my YouTube Channel, where I read the blogs out loud. I also have a playlist of hymns from my church.
