Genesis 35:1-2 - Then God said to Jacob, “Go up
to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who
appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.” So Jacob said to his household and to
all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, and
purify yourselves and change your clothes.
Jacob had chosen his own place to live when he returned from
Padan Aram. The influence of the pagan
people he settled next to infiltrated his family until God could allow it no
more. His daughter had been raped…his
sons had become vigilantes…and pagan idols had made their way into the houses
of his family.
Jacob knew as soon as he heard God’s voice that he had
strayed from the deep faith he once had.
His experience wrestling God had worn away…and life went on without God
in his daily routine. Perhaps he had become too comfortable with his wealth…and
felt he did not need God anymore.
Perhaps he just forgot how full life was when he was in a daily
relationship with God. Perhaps the wear
and tear of raising a large family just cut into his time with God.
It is a reminder to me that God allows situations in our
lives to remind us that He is the most important thing in our lives. We can become too settled in our way when
life serves up good things…and we easily become so beat up from the bad things
that happen that all we want to do is crawl in a hole and hide. If we are
simply riding our blessings….or constantly struggling in deep waters…we fail to
see the idols and attitudes creep into our heart that block us from hearing God’
will for our lives.
I recently had my own reminder that all things are not as
they seem… when I realized my new retired insurance had a few details I wasn’t
aware of. If I had just spent the time
to read my policy more carefully I would have learned about the practice of
in-network and out-of-network doctors and labs before I had built up a large
bill. In my excitement over the pure blessing of retirement…I failed to study
and understand the details of my health insurance. It is an expensive mistake
that will eat into my emergency fund… but I can be very thankful that I have
the money put away to pay it. It will
delay my plans to buy a plane ticket to see the sweet grandchild that lives in
California for a while… but I will eventually earn the ticket money back again…hopefully
in time for his birthday in May.
I hit the snooze a little too many times this morning. I sat down at the computer with the few minutes I had and tried to write...but nothing came. I needed the sermon on using the Holy Spirit to help remind me that I
had become a little too much like Jacob… my happiness from retirement making me
a little too naive about the other elements I needed to be in control of to
make wise decisions about my health needs.
Father…thank you for the reminder that I need to stay
focused on you in all that I do. Forgive
me for the times that I let life distract me …the blessings and the disasters …
from hearing you tell me exactly what to do. Forgive me for the times that I
have let the blessings you have allowed in my life to cause me to coast where I
am in my faith…ultimately losing ground and becoming less effective with the
resources you have given to me. Amen.
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