Genesis 35:1 "Go back to Bethel," Jacob! You've just "missed" your daughter Dinah unbelievably! Go back, says God. Go back to the place where God answered you. This so speaks to my heart this day as it it did when we received very disrupting news that rocked my world. I didn't want to leave the church and people we so loved! God wasn't in it for us. Was He? The very first couple of pages of 66 Love Letters, Larry quotes Hosea 5:15 - "in their misery, they will earnestly seek Me." I sought God at that moment in my life like never before and He showed up like never before. Maybe, it’s more fitting to say: I showed up like never before. It's been the best thing that ever happened to my walk with HIM. Really. I Love Genesis 35:10 where God says He revealed Himself A.G.A.I.N. I AM THE STRONG GOD!
Dear Friends, no matter what happens, God is with you. It's really true.
Always go back to the place where you were dependent and start fresh brand new again.
I've hit such rock bottom at times. Never stayed. By His Grace.
Worship "the One who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.” Genesis 35:1-3.
... then the story of Joseph is so intriguing and this time I notice a little more that Joseph was arrogant, giving bad reports to his dad. It's a peek at Joseph's heart that is going to change. A peek at my own heart every day when sin shows up but so does God! It seems like I'm always having to go back to Bethel! What's most alive in me this day? What's most alive in you? What am I doing with matters of my heart?
Am I disrupted by the story of John the Baptist and how he learned the unforced rhythms of Grace? "I should be! God prefers a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual (Matt 12:7)." "This is war, and there is no neutral ground (Matt 12:30). If you're not on my side, you're the enemy...Consider this---"There's nothing done or said that can't be forgiven (Matt 12:32)." Take heart! "It's your heart that gives meaning to your words (Matt 12:34)."
PHOTO: The place I go to ask these heavy questions. Go back to where God has answered you. Go back in your mind, in your heart, to a place.
"Then they sat down to eat their supper. Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites on their way from Gilead, their camels loaded with spices, ointments, and perfumes to sell in Egypt."
ReplyDeleteJoseph may have been arrogant and boastful. He may have been most loved by his daddy. He may have been a real pain in the side of people, but he sure didn't deserve to be KILLED for what he had done...and by his own brothers!
I listened to Beth Moore teach this sweet God moment when I attended her taping in Baltimore for The Patriarchs Bible study:
God had prepared a caravan to rescue Joseph from his pit!
I love that visual of young Joseph in the pit and the caravan coming in the distance to rescue him from CERTAIN death!
How many times has our compassionate God done that for us??? Sent us a caravan? Coming in the distance?
And one other thought here...the names of all these brothers involved in this sin are not mentioned in this passage, except for the two that showed compassion towards their brother...Reuben and Judah. God remembered their names here.
Compassion.
We are most like Jesus when we show compassion. It is never a character trait of our enemy or his dealings with mankind.
I've asked before, where is Jesus in these passages and His compassion is here with Joseph...I believe he's even the "man" who directed Joseph TO HIS BROTHERS when Joseph was wandering around in the field.
Think about that.
Knowing what was about to happen to Joseph, "the man" directed him to them.
This story just gets better and better about revealing how God provides for us through adversity.
Now I feel like I need to go back to Bethel just to worship my beautiful God who sends me caravans. He is my loving God. I so thank Him this morning for already having things all worked out in my life. What a Mighty God we serve.
ReplyDeleteJealous –
ReplyDelete1.Fearful or wary of being supplanted; apprehensive of losing affection or position.
2.
a.Resentful or bitter in rivalry; envious: jealous of the success of others.
b.Inclined to suspect rivalry.
3.Having to do with or arising from feelings of envy, apprehension, or bitterness: jealous thoughts.
Synonyms:
anxious, apprehensive, attentive, begrudging, covetous, demanding, doubting, emulous, envious, envying, grabby, grasping, green-eyed, grudging, guarded, intolerant, invidious, jaundiced, mistrustful, monopolizing, possessive, possessory, protective, questioning, resentful, rival, skeptical, solicitous, suspicious,
Genesis 37 – Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons and they were jealous.
How often does symptoms of jealously hit? Am I aware of it and confess it or do I allow it in to roll around in my mind and as it rolls around it gathers and can grow into something ugly unless I immediately acknowledge it. The feelings of jealousy grow quick roots and must be torn out before they find a hold.
Romans 13:12-14
Deborah, I remember Beth describing Joseph, too, as "a bratty kid, but he didn't deserve a pit..." A rescue caravan--I love that word picture.
ReplyDeleteDr. Crabb reminds us that our sufferings are not without purpose--though we probably won't be aware of their eternal weight until The Eternal Party, and then--we won't care anyway! It won't matter compared to the joy we'll know.
Most of us carry the scars of our falls on the hard pavement of life. Jacob said he'd mourn the loss of Joseph until the day he died--he was inconsolable. Suffering is part of the deal in this life.
We shouldn't be surprised when we still run into trouble. But it's all part of His story and it matters to Him--even when it won't matter to us anymore.
I am right with you Bev.
ReplyDeleteA quick story... During Christmas I was looking for a toy that was impossible to find. I went to one store and out loud I asked a representative if they had that toy. The man didn't know, but he directed me to the toy. All of the sudden I felt like someone was following me. There was a man behind me walking fast, and then all of the sudden I saw him take a shortcut. I knew what he was doing...He was trying to beat me to the place. After all that was said I ended up getting to the place like a second before he did, but the toy wasn't there.
He never said anything...He just looked like this businessman that would never try to beat me to a toy. I really think he would have taken the toy. I was offended and bothered for awhile, but then I realized that I had no right to be...and further more I felt like God showed me that I might have done exactly what I thought he was trying to do if I was in that situation (I would just have tried to be more sneaky). Sin right in my own heart...
Your comment made me think of that today. I am so enjoying reading through the Bible with all of you...
Kim