Weekly Memory Verse:
This is real love -- not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
1 John 4:10 (NLT)
Meditation Thought:
Am I running from something? Do I realize that God wants me to go with Him?
Today's Reading - Genesis 28:10-16 (NLT) Choose another translation
Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. At sundown he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stopped there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and lay down to sleep. As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going up and down the stairway. At the top of the stairway stood the LORD, and he said, "I am the LORD, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth! They will spread out in all directions-- to the west and the east, to the north and the south. And all the families of the earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. What's more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you." Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I wasn't even aware of it!"
(Today's reading came from the New Living Translation)
6 comments:
God has chosen his people. He doesn't stop after that and just say do this. He takes care of those he has chosen. He promises that in verse 15 “What's more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go.” What a comfort to have the Creator of the Universe say I got your back!
How many times when I reach the end of my day and pillow my head do I take time to reflect that God has been there at each step of my journey. How often did I think I was traveling alone through the circumstances of my day. Perhaps it would be more profitable were I to remember that, whether the climb is steep or the path is smooth, He is in that place traveling with me, because He is in me. May I not just find Him at the end of the day but see Him all through the day.
This passage reminds me of a treadmill. Running from the past expends an enormous amount of time and energy, but it doesn't really get me anywhere.
On the other hand, God is ready and willing to walk (not run) with me - teaching me, carrying me, loving me - until we get to the place He has chosen.
Only a true friend does that. What more could I ask for?
"What's more, I am with you, and I will protect you wherever you go...Surely the LORD is in this place, and I wasn't even aware of it!" I so often think I am dealing with a situation all alone, no one is there for me, and all the time the Lord is there and I am not aware of it. He is protecting me and I don't realize it. I must ask you to forgive me, Lord, for not being more aware of you in my life. And I thank you today for this wonderful reminder that you are there and protecting me.
Last night as I was driving home from our evening service, I asked the Lord what he was doing in me because I felt "His" love for the people in our church. It was augmented to a level that I have never felt before. So I asked God if this feeling was going to stay with me or if it was just another one of those feelings that was going to leave me when I the new day came.
I believe that Jacob's words today were a confirmation, not just for me but for us all.
"Surely the Lord is in this place", and "I wasn't even aware of it!"
" And, behold, I am with you, and will keep you in every place where you go, and will bring you again into this land. For I will not leave you until I have done that which I have spoken of to you." This reminds me of the promise God made to Abraham and to Isaac. He continued to reinforce His covenant. My boss at work was looking at an optional membership payment extension of two years and he said that the Lord may come tomorrow or even tonight and he wouldn't need to pay for the extra years! We rejoiced together that God has things in place for Jesus to return and that includes the way He is keeping His promise to His people.
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