Replace Fear With A Talk With God

Genesis 32:6-8 -   When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.”  In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, and the flocks and herds and camels as well.  He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group, the group that is left may escape.”

Jacob let fear get the best of him as he neared his father’s land.  He had sent messengers ahead to let his brother know he was coming…but the knowledge of what he had done in the past had him thinking the worst. His brother was coming to meet him…but the fact that he brought 400 men with him must mean he wanted to fight.

Jacob was so scared that he divided his belongings and sent them opposite directions.  Then he took his wives and children and sent them across the river…while he camped on the other side in front of them. A man appeared…an angel of God…who wretched his hip socket trying to get Jacob to let him go.  Jacob would not let go until the angel blessed him.

Jacob had to finally deal with the wrong that he had done to his brother. God had already forgiven him….even taught him a life lesson about lying and taking advantage. If he had stopped to ask God before he went to sleep that night what to do…I bet God would have told him that Esau had also forgiven him and was excited to see him.   But lost in his fear...his restless sleep produced a ‘Jacob’ plan…a way to protect his family and at least ½ of what God had blessed him with.

Jacob needed a more intense ‘God’ moment than the one he had on his way to find a wife. He had already forgotten God’s promise to make a great nation out of his sons. He had already forgotten that God was there to help him as he had promised. Fear froze his heart as well as his mind. It took an all-night session with an angel…and a hip that would never work correctly again to teach him that God is always there…no matter what.

It is a great reminder to me to let my first response to fear be a talk with God. I can’t always control my circumstances…but going to him first thing shows that I trust him to work everything out for the good…because I love him. He promised to never leave me….but that doesn’t mean I might not find myself in prison…or the belly of a whale…or on a cross. Jonah might have been on the run…but Paul and Jesus were doing exactly what God had told them to do.

Father…thank you for the reminder that you work all things for the good of those that love you.  Forgive me for the times that forget your promises to me…and try to make a ‘Barbara’ plan that actually takes me further from your will than you had planned. Bless me with mercy the way you did Jacob….even if it means a physical reminder of pain to help me never forget you are there …no matter what. Amen.

No Back Up Plan Needed

Genesis 31:29-30 -  I have the power to harm you; but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’  Now you have gone off because you longed to return to your father’s household. But why did you steal my gods?”

Jacob had fled from Paddam Aram without telling his father-in-law. God had blessed him so much that the sons of Laban felt Jacob had taken advantage of their father. Rachel and Leah both agreed that it was a good idea to leave…but Rachel took the household gods with her… outright stealing them from her father.

Laban knew that Jacob’s success was because of the Lord Yahweh.  So he was very confused why Jacob would need his household gods. He pursued them when he discovered them gone…but Rachel hid her theft well…lying about her womanly condition while her father searched her tent….and we are never told why she took them in the first place.

It’s hard to imagine that Rachel would not trust God as her only resource by now…so perhaps the theft was a last effort on her part to hurt the father that had mistreated her husband for twenty years. She might have also thought he would use them as a tool to find where they had gone. One other theory is that she took them as a sort of deed to her father’s property. No matter the reason she took them …her partial trust of God…pushed her mind to create back up plan if God did not come through.

Rachel’s plan did not affect her father finding her family…it just confused her father. Laban watched Jacob depend on God...he knew that all of Jacob’s success was because of the God he believed in.  He was only confused why Jacob would need his gods too.   She did not need this back up plan…God already took care of any danger they might have been in by appearing to him in a dream.

We simply don’t need any back up plans.  Jeremiah 29:11 says that God knows the plans he has for us…they are good...they will prosper us….and never harm us. No matter how bad it seems on the surface…God has plans to use it to give us hope for our future. Psalm 46:10 doesn’t say…take whatever action you think is best when you feel overwhelmed…it says….BE STILL…and know that I am God.

Father…thank you for the reminder that you have a future planned for us…and you don’t need any help from our finite minds figuring out how to get there.  Forgive me for the times that I take action instead of sit still and listen for your plan. Help me to learn to stop and listen to your voice when things around me seem to be overwhelming my spirit. Amen.

Wait On God's Timing And Plan

Genesis 30:22-24 -  Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.”  She named him Joseph, and said, “May the Lord add to me another son.”

Jacob had many children.  His first wife Leah bore him his first four.  Then Rachel became jealous of her sister’s fertile womb and gave Jacob her handmaid…so she had two sons by her handmaid.  Not to be outdone…Leah gave her handmaid to Jacob as well and she had two more sons…plus a daughter. Then God finally opened Rachel’s womb and she had Joseph.

Children were everything in this culture.  Rachel was loved by Jacob but felt incomplete when she was barren.  Leah felt unloved but found purpose and love through her children. Rachel never understood why God allowed her sister to conceive instead of her…turning their relationship into a contest of who could give Jacob more children.

It is a reminder to me to wait on God’s timing and plan.  It isn’t easy…it takes a disciplined mind and heart to trust that God promise in Jeremiah 29:11 will indeed manifest itself…especially when God allows time to prolong the promise. God had heard Rachel’s plea for children all along. He gave her this desire of her heart when he knew it would be best.

Father…thank you for the reminder to wait on you. Forgive me for the times that I jump ahead of your plan and become impatient waiting.  Help me to see the value in trusting you completely with the timing of all you allow in my life.  Show me how to wait on you and be content and happy while I am waiting. Amen.

A Positive Attitude is The Beginning Of A Deeper Walk With God

Genesis 29:26-28  -  Laban replied, “It is not our custom here to give the younger daughter in marriage before the older one.   Finish this daughter’s bridal week; then we will give you the younger one also, in return for another seven years of work.” And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.

Jacob found a home with his uncle. He even felt love for his younger daughter. As wages for working for Laban he was to have Rachel as his wife in seven years. But Jacob got a taste of his own medicine…so to speak. He was deceived by Laban on his wedding night and ended up with the older sister Leah. He got Rachel as well a week later…but had to work another 7 years for her.

Jacob must have learned something from his years with Laban…for he didn’t give up and become bitter. He was willing to work as long as it took for him to have Rachel as well. His attitude of persistence gave him a boldness …a strength to work the next seven years to get what he wanted.  He learned in those 14 years that hard work is better than deception.

What a great reminder that attitude and hard work is everything. A positive attitude can help us learn the things God needs us to have if we are to be useful in his kingdom.  God’s timing and plan are not always obvious…we have to be willing to do what it takes to become what he needs us to be. It may take a week…or a year…or seven years…or fourteen.

It only took two or three years for Jesus. He was so focused and connected to his father that he was able to accomplish everything God had sent him to do in just 3 years after his baptism. It took 40 years for the Israelites….who complained and worshiped God so erratically …they never truly believed the promise waiting for them in the land of Canaan.

I have to admit that I am more like Jacob and the Israelites. I am learning to be more consistent with my worship and prayer and Bible study…but feel like I am playing catch up so many days of my life. It is so easy to fall back into old patterns instead of strengthening the old with more time with God. I need to work on being more persistent… and not giving in so easy to the flesh that holds me back from the doing the hard work God requires of us to learn who he is completely.

Father…thank you for the reminder that a positive attitude is the beginning of a deeper walk with you.  Forgive me for the times that I have let bitterness…jealously…and plain ole tiredness slow down the training schedule you had planned for me. Help me to stay more focused on you and continually connected with prayer and Bible study so that you can help me achieve what you sent me here to do.  Amen. 

Have You had A Moment Of Full Belief...And Made Your Vow To God?

Genesis 28:  16-22   -  When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”  He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”  Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz.  Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house…

Jacob….sent away to find a wife from his mother’s family back home…stopped to rest one night. God appeared to him in a dream and repeated the promise he had made to his grandfather. He had one of those defining moments of faith…where he began to believe in God for his care and provision…instead of depending on his own logic or the deceptive plans of his mother.

Jacob still doesn’t get the full ramifications of God’s promise to him…but at least he understands that God is bigger than blessings and birthrights…and is ready to let him become his caregiver and Lord. His ..IF…is a confirmation that he understands what God has said to him.  He even makes a serious response to God’s words…a vow that God will be his Lord.

It reminds me of the moment I became a Christian… that moment when you hear God’s still small voice for the first time and your feet respond to his call to be your savior and Lord. I was 14….struggling with the fact that I had walked an isle at 7 and been baptized at an early age…not sure of my salvation even though I was a worker bee in many ministries and programs at church. It was an epiphany of realization that I could hide from no longer…I had to be sure that God was going to be a full part of my life. In that moment I said yes…and we began to have a relationship where God would train and teach me everything I needed to know to live for him completely.

It’s a great reminder to reflect on whether I have indeed made God my Lord in everything about my life. God sure has taken care of me through the years…I have everything I need. I may have wanted a few things that I didn’t get…but I am realizing that God knows best….and question less and less the no answers I get in life. It is a reminder that the vow I made to God formed a permanent relationship that will be one sided if I do not do my part to nourish it with prayer and Bible study.

Father…thank you for the reminder that I made a vow to you…for you to be my Lord.  Forgive me for the times that I have taken that vow for granted...not doing my part to strengthen and help it grow. Help me to take my vow to you more seriously…and come to you daily in prayer and study of your word…so that you can help me learn more about the love I need to power a life that puts you first. Amen. 

Lies And Deception Align You With The Father of Lies

Genesis 27: 18-20 -  He went to his father and said, “My father.” “Yes, my son,” he answered. “Who is it?” Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your blessing.”  Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?” “The Lord your God gave me success,” he replied.

Rebekah joins her beloved son in a deception that cheats Esau out of the traditional blessing of the oldest male. She overheard the directions of Isaac to Esau and talked Jacob into wearing Esau’s clothes. Jacob was worried about his fair complexion…so Rebekah fastened the skins of the goats she had cooked to his hands and neck. The deception wasn’t complete with just the clothes...food and skin coverings.  Jacob had to lie to his father.  He even included God in his deception…using his name in his lie.

Jacob succeeded in being blessed more than he deserved…but the price for his success was high. His brother was so mad…the turmoil that existed between them turned to pure hate…hate so strong that Esau swore he would kill his brother after his father had died…and he had time to mourn his death.

The Bible has over 100 verses that tell us the hatred and consequences God has for those that lie to get their way. John 8:44 speaks one of the strongest reasons not to let yourself fall into the trap that Rebekah and Jacob did.  It says… “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

What a great reminder that lying aligns us with the father of lies…the creator of evil…the one who fell from grace and thinks to this day he can still overcome the one who created him. That thought alone is enough to give us a motive to think twice before we use any form of deception or lie for any reason. I have to admit that I never thought of any lie I told that way. 

Lies keep us from seeing the truth. It is no accident that the Bible also has over 100 verses about telling the truth.   John must have had a great understanding of this concept for he recorded this great words in  chapter 8 verse 33 … “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Lies trap us in a world of deception… Jacob is getting sent away to an uncle to save his life in the next chapter.  He will be there for a while…so God can fix the mess he made and soften Esau’s heart to a stage of forgiveness.

Father…thank you for the reminder that lies and deception are not your way. Forgive me for the times that I have let my circumstances dictate words of deception instead of letting the truth bring light and your love to the situation I was afraid of. Help me to stay aligned to you…so I will see the importance of always using the truth to govern my thoughts and actions. Amen.

Persistence Plus Faith Is A Great Combination

Genesis 26:19-22 -   Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him.  Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”

Isaac had been blessed so greatly that the king of the land where he had settled asked him to leave. So Isaac journeyed back to where his father had lived.  He reopened the wells that had been stopped up with earth...even dug new ones as the old were claimed by the Philistines that lived there now.

I am strengthened by Isaac’s resolve to keep moving and dig new wells till no new claims were made on one.  He did not fight with the Philistines that took over his father’s wells…he moved on to another area and dug a new well till no one fought with him over it.  He did not develop an attitude of entitlement …that his riches gave him special rights… he waited on God to do what he knew by faith would be done.

Isaac built an altar to God at the place where God gave him no fusses about his new well. He knew the Lord had provided and was giving him this land where he was raised to nurture his family and provide for his servants. The king was so impressed with how God had blessed him….and the model of living that Isaac showed…that he asked Isaac for a covenant between them.

Father…thank you for the reminder that you will provide everything we need to live and prosper. You let Jeremiah record my favorite words of promise in 29:11… “ For I know the plans I have for you…declares the Lord…plans to prosper you and not to harm you...plans to give you hope and a future.” Forgive me for the times that I have fought to get my way…and not let you work things out for me in your own timing.  Help me to hold tight to the faith you have given me and let it grow into a trust through any situation.  Amen.