Girls
I have been silent to for two days about our readings. Oh, they were rich days, weren't they? God has so much to say to us. Oh, that we would awaken each day with our ears tuned to His voice like one who is ready to be taught. This is going to be a great week because of His faithfulness and our obedience to be captured by the awesome power of His amazing Word.
You know I can't go without saying something about the weekend reading. So many things, not enough time but I need to comment on one revelation the Lord hit me with about Laban.
We can't keep false gods in our house. We need to clean house. Laban saw and believed in the power of the LORD, the covenant God yet still kept his gods. I am no different than Laban. I hate to think of all that I put in front of my precious Jesus. Forgive me Lord and clean my house.
Today's reading.
After a long time, some family squabbling, treaty making, the rape of his daughter, murder of her rapist , some plundering and intermarrying, our Patriarch is finally back in Mamre the land where is father lived. Home sweet home. Dorothy had it right, there really is no place like home. Don't you know that Jacob had to have let our a sigh of relief and a loud AMEN. However, he had to settle in without his beloved Rachel.
I prayed about what to write today because I knew the text was so rich. The Lord answered my prayer quickly. Let's look at Jacob's example for us in facing fearful opposition.
He was shaking in his cloak at the thought of meeting up with Esau. (I would have been, too.) Esau had threatened to kill him years earlier after the birthright debacle. I don't suppose he had received any Hallmark cards on his birthday from his brother. Now, he was faced with the knowledge of meeting him and the memory of the past.
There is a lesson for all of us in Jacob's response to his fear. When we fear we should:
Sometimes what we fear the most does happen, and maybe worse but that does not change who God is and what God can do. It is hard for us to believe this truth in the middle of a terrible situation. God would have still been the same God even if the family reunion did not go well. In our circumstance either we believe God is God or we don't, the choice is ours. I have to believe in my heart that if things did not turn out favorably for Jacob, he would have still trusted God.
Let's follow Jacob's example. Is there something that you fear? Use Jacob's prayer as a guide as you pray to the God of Abraham and Issac.
Have a great day girls. I have already prayed for you. I am so thankful we are on this journey together. I am looking at my map right now! Smiling.
You know I can't go without saying something about the weekend reading. So many things, not enough time but I need to comment on one revelation the Lord hit me with about Laban.
We can't keep false gods in our house. We need to clean house. Laban saw and believed in the power of the LORD, the covenant God yet still kept his gods. I am no different than Laban. I hate to think of all that I put in front of my precious Jesus. Forgive me Lord and clean my house.
Today's reading.
After a long time, some family squabbling, treaty making, the rape of his daughter, murder of her rapist , some plundering and intermarrying, our Patriarch is finally back in Mamre the land where is father lived. Home sweet home. Dorothy had it right, there really is no place like home. Don't you know that Jacob had to have let our a sigh of relief and a loud AMEN. However, he had to settle in without his beloved Rachel.
I prayed about what to write today because I knew the text was so rich. The Lord answered my prayer quickly. Let's look at Jacob's example for us in facing fearful opposition.
He was shaking in his cloak at the thought of meeting up with Esau. (I would have been, too.) Esau had threatened to kill him years earlier after the birthright debacle. I don't suppose he had received any Hallmark cards on his birthday from his brother. Now, he was faced with the knowledge of meeting him and the memory of the past.
There is a lesson for all of us in Jacob's response to his fear. When we fear we should:
- Pray. (Isn't is cool we pray to the same God that Jacob prayed to all those years ago?)
- Don't let fear dictate our obedience to what God tells us to do. (God told Jacob to go home. v9)
- Remain humble in our approach to Him acknowledging all we have, all we are comes from Him. (v10)
- Admit you fear (v11)
- Recount the Lord's promises, name the one by one (v12)
Sometimes what we fear the most does happen, and maybe worse but that does not change who God is and what God can do. It is hard for us to believe this truth in the middle of a terrible situation. God would have still been the same God even if the family reunion did not go well. In our circumstance either we believe God is God or we don't, the choice is ours. I have to believe in my heart that if things did not turn out favorably for Jacob, he would have still trusted God.
Let's follow Jacob's example. Is there something that you fear? Use Jacob's prayer as a guide as you pray to the God of Abraham and Issac.
Have a great day girls. I have already prayed for you. I am so thankful we are on this journey together. I am looking at my map right now! Smiling.
14 Comments:
In this passage, I see that Jacob is growing in his trust of God, but He is still taking things into his own hands. ie. sending gifts ahead of himself to placate Esau.
Jacob did remember God's promises--and remind God of what they were.
I am so thankful that we have God's promises--in print--right before us as we study His word.
When I am fearful, that is what I need to be dwelling on.
Have an awesome day every one!
I love the promises of God, spelled right out there for us to go back to over and over again.
I find it interesting how traditions or rituals come into place. i.e., the people of Israel still not eating meat near the hip socket.
A question I have is about Jacob not going to Seir with Esau. Are we going to find out later that Esau comes looking for him? I guess I am not familiar with this aspect of the story. Was it all a trick on Jacob's part?
I see the revenge theme again after the rape. That is something that never seems to go away in our lives. That sure is something we can all pray about. Our revenge may not be seen in murder, but our revenge can be seen in smaller actions, that we justify in some way or another.
Jacob remembers how many times God has answered his prayers. The presence of God that he must feel is awesome. Pass some of that faith my way!
Thank you Wendy for the encouraging words dealing with fear...I too have been wrestling with what the future holds and become fearful and stressed and yet what you shared is so true! Praying to him and telling him our fears and recalling all that he has done...God is faithful!!
Raylene
Boone, IA
Over the weekend and today, I am struck by how flawed all of the patriarchs were; Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Yet God continued to bless them and to keep his covenant with them. He repeated to Jacob (Genesis 28:13-15) almost word-for-word what he had promised Abraham in Genesis 13:14-16; that He would make his offspring numerous (too numerous to count) and that all nations would be blessed through his offspring. But God added an additional promise in these verses; He promised "not to leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
God is still blessing all nations through the offspring of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He will not leave or forsake us no matter how many turns we take from His path, or how many poor decisions we make. That is faithfulness!
Have a great week!
Karen, Pleasanton, CA
Jacob purposely made time to be alone so he could talk to God. God showed up and changed his name from "deceiver" to "God fights". When we decide to come away from the crowd, God will meet us and change us from who we are to who he has called us to be. Jacob didn't come to God with a "poor me" attitude. He prayed God promises and God responded to his Word. That's why we must know and pray God's word in our situations today; God watches over his word to perform it! Isaiah 55:11
Debbie - North Carolina
Jacob did give us such a beautiful pattern for prayer. Things weren't looking good as he prepared to meet his brother Esau, but Jacob recalls God's promises and places his confidence in God's Word. "The best we can say to God in prayer is what He has said to us" (Author unknown).
Faith over fear. That's an ongoing battle in my life. Victory in Jesus!
Blessings,
Joy
Like so many of you, what stood out to me was Jacob's prayer and how he stood on the promises of God.
I think of how as children we would say to our parents, "But you promised me..." usually out of disappointment with a broken promise. How awesome that we can come to our Heavenly parent and know in love that He always will keep His promises.
Have a super Monday. And sorry Wendy about the Panthers' loss. Hope you still had a great date night anyway!
I too struggle with fear. Debilitating fear after a year that saw the losses of our business, employment, our home and life savings. I wrestled with God too many times during the year. Today I received the following devotional from Today God Is First with Os HIllman on the same subject. I pray today that I am completely consecrated to His will and purposes.
Cheryl
Clovis, CA
Wrestling With God
TGIF Today God Is First Volume 1 by Os Hillman
Monday, January 12 2009
The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. - Genesis 32:31
Jacob was a man who was a controller. He connived and manipulated his way to get what he wanted. It was a generational stronghold passed down through his mother, who encouraged her son to play a trick on his father, Isaac, by pretending to be Esau. This trick led Isaac to give the family blessing to Jacob, which meant Jacob would eventually inherit the land God had promised to Abraham's seed. Jacob also learned control from his uncle Laban who caused Jacob to work for 14 years to take Rachel as his lifelong mate. One must ask which was more ugly in God's sight, the self-centered nature and worldliness of Esau, or the control and manipulation of Jacob?
Control is a problem for men and women. Many women use sex to control their husbands. Many men use power and force to control their wives. Control is at the core of that which is opposite the cross-self-rule. What delivers us from this fleshly nature of control? A crisis. Jacob's crisis came when he was faced with the prospect of meeting a brother who said he would kill him the next time he saw him. Esau had built his own clan and was about to meet Jacob and his clan in the middle of the desert. Jacob was fearful, so he retreated. There he met a messenger from God who wrestled with him. Jacob clung to God and refused to let go of this angel. It is the place where Jacob was given a painful but necessary spiritual heart transplant. From that point on, Jacob would walk with a limp, because God had to dislocate his hip in order to overcome Jacob's strong will.
For workplace believers, God often has to "dislocate our hip" through failure and disappointment. Sometimes it is the only way He can get our attention. Our nature to control and manipulate is so strong that it takes a catastrophic event to wake us up. Yet God did not reject Jacob for these character traits. In fact, God blessed him greatly because He saw something in Jacob that pleased Him. He saw a humble and contrite heart beneath the cold and manipulative exterior of Jacob's life, and it was that trait that God needed to develop. He did this by bringing about the crisis in Jacob's life that led to total consecration. This event was marked by Jacob getting a new name, Israel. For the first time, Jacob had a nature change, not just a habit change. What will God have to do in our lives to gain our complete consecration to His will and purposes?
"Beware of the Christian leader who does not walk with a limp."
Bob Mumford (Used by permission.)
If the TGIF was forwarded to you - we would like to bless you with your own free subscription. Subscribe Today!
Blog about today's devotional with other subscribers
Past Issues of TGIF Volume 1
this could be a novel of a comment *just a small note of forewarning* today's reading made me ask a lot of questions and do a lot of thinking... in class... but i will keep it to a couple points...
like what happened to esau over those 20+ years? God's hand had to have been in his life for esau to have about-faced and welcomed his brother with open arms; we only learn of esau's mistakes, his hatred for his brother,his unexpected arms of acceptance, and his family tree in chapter 36. never does genesis describe esau as a man of God, walking with or praying to God... so then, something that made me think a little bit harder than usual... after jacob wrestled with "the man" and named his wrestling ring Peniel (face of God) he sees his brother and says to him "your smile is like the smile of God" or another translation "to see your face is like seeing the face of God." jacob had wrestled with God the night before and related his brother's face to that of God's. did esau, the ungodly young man defiant towards his father and his father's God, grow into a man who shared the facial features of jacob's wrestling buddy? how symbolic is that?
i think it is great to reflect on the prayers of jacob and his growth in trust with God... huge deepening steps of faith... but we also need to spend time reflecting upon and understanding jacob's hesitancy... and the disasters that came from that. jacob promised God that he would return to Bethel and build an altar to God after his visionary dream... this return apparently included a family reunion, a few marriages, a bunch of kids, *no trip to bethel yet* a family feud, countless acts of deciet and trickery, a memorable fight, a brotherly reunion, a horrific tragedy in the life of dinah, some looting/ plundering/killing... and now it is time to go back to bethel. jacob's story would not have been nearly as eiciting had he decided to keep his promise to God. i think he forgot... sadly, i think jacob forgot what it was like that night in his dream- his gateway to heaven moment. he had been in the presence of God; God had given him land to live on and a promise of "descendants more numerous than the dust on the earth!" why else would he stay away for so long... could he not have spared his family had he been more commited to his vow?
we are all so much like jacob... and esau... and leah... and rachel... and shechem... and dinah... blinded by fortue and promise, seeking immediate gratification, stuck playing second fiddle, jealous of those around us, unwilling to control our passion, ruined by the things of this world... and God still invites into relationship with Him.
hot dog :))
yay for more in the days to come~
I am so thankful for all of you women - your comments really encourage me and make me think about things that really didn't stand out to me.
I must admit that I didn't do my readings Sat or Sun, but just finished both and today's. I had been doing my readings in the morning and really enjoyed how they inspired me for the rest of the day. And I can tell you skipping those readings really effected me - I missed them. Glad to be getting back into. So excited what God is doing to me through this - such a thirst and hunger for His word.
Amy - Kingston, Ontario
Erin - I really liked your entry. I hadn't noticed the "face of God" comment to Esau....
Thanks ladies for neat insights. You keep me thinking!
Good night!
Morgen - Minnesota
I got hit by the whole false god thing too...even when Jacob was leaving Laban's house he had to tell his family to get rid of their false gods...wow!
I was also struck with how Jacob was ready and listening for God's voice and how he didn't hesitate to obey even in the hard things. I love the reunion with Essau and the fresh humility I saw overflowing from Jacob in this event.
Isn't our God so good and I also love that we pray to this same God. He is sooo amazing!
I love reding all of your comments. I have always struggled with reading God's Word because I always felt so condemned. I've lived under a harsh condemnation ever since I was a child, so it was hard to believe that God could love me. I am so overwhelmed with emotion right now because for the first time when I was reading your comments and the Bible I felt like I was a part of God's family and I knew in my heart he was not condemning me. You know things in your head and you pray for the day that you will know it in your heart and today is that day. Today January 12th 2009. Thank you Wendy for doing this and Thank You Lord for allowing me to know about this and for answering my long time prayer. I give you all the Praise and Glory. Thank you all for you comments. May God Bless You.
Several have commented on Jacob's decision not to follow Esau to Seir, but instead go to Shechem. My question is why. Why did he not follow his brother? Was it another bad decision? Was he afraid his brother was tricking him by accepting him on the outside only to attack him once he came inside? (WOW ... the symbolism of that question!) And could what happened to Dinah been avoided if Jacob had gone to Seir?
Talking about Dinah ... her brothers sought revenge for her. How many times do we want to seek revenge for our own brothers and sisters when God requires us to give grace?
Post a Comment
Home