I'm Following Jesus – Page 3070 – Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Saturday, January 21, 2017
Chapters: Genesis 27-29
Message: It Is God’s Plan

Hello My Friend,

Sometimes the path God takes us makes no sense at all, it is as if you are stuck in a traffic jam, rerouted to make you go faster, only to slow you down even more. Whenever you feel like nothing is going right, and every step forward brings you two steps back, keep reminding yourself that it is God’s plan, and He has something great for you waiting at the end of the road. “O LORD, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!” – Psalm 139:1-3,7.

We do not hear much about Isaac’s life beyond him being the seed that God promised He would establish His covenant with. Much of this is due to the fact that he tried to alter God’s path by blessing Esau with what should have been Jacob’s. Rightfully Esau being the first born would have had birthrights, but since Rebekah never forgot what God told her, she came up with a scheme to deceive Isaac into thinking he was blessing Esau.

“And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him, Behold, here am I. And he said, Behold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death: Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die. And Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, Bring me venison, and make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before the LORD before my death. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that which I command thee.” – Genesis 27:1-8.

“according to that which I command thee.” When God promises that something will come to pass it will happen no matter how many times people try to divert His will. Oh, they might think they can slow Him down or get Him to change His mind, but once He has spoken it it will come to pass at the appointed time, even when we make our own path. When God makes a promise to us He keeps it, we do not have to help Him out, all we have to do is be faithful, love Him, and wait patiently for Him. “And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” – Romans 8:27-29

Jacob followed his mother’s instructions to deceive his father, it was not Isaac who was angry, it was Esau, he vowed to kill Jacob when his parents died. Fearing for his life, Isaac and Rebekah sent Jacob to dwell with Laban, Rebekah’s brother.

“And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padanaram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother’s father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother’s brother. And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob’s and Esau’s mother. And Esau seeing that the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac his father; Then went Esau unto Ishmael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebajoth, to be his wife.” – Genesis 28:1-3,5,8,9.

“Then went Esau unto Ishmael,” Esau knew that his lifestyle was not something that God approved of, he had every opportunity to turn his life in the right direction, instead he chose to go his own way. That is why God chose Jacob to fulfill His promise to Abraham. God will only use us if we are willing to take His path, this is something that always has been. “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” – I Peter 5:2-4.

Fearful, and perhaps a little guilty of what he had done, Jacob embarks on his journey to Padanaram, he stops to rest, and it was then that God spoke to him for the first time. “And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the LORD is in this place; and I knew it not.” – Genesis 28:12-16.

“Surely the LORD is in this place;” After years of his father’s guidance of God, Jacob finally heard from Him, and knew He was directing his path. We can all get diverted in another direction sometimes, but that does not mean that God has walked away from us. He might let us suffer a bit, but He is always watching over us, and when the time is right will reveal Himself. “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” -Hebrews 13:5,6.

Jacob may not have gotten the things in God’s plan the right way, he was quite the deceiver in how we obtained them, and it was time for God to straighten him out on this, and He was going to do that with Laban. Jacob arrives in Padanaram and soon after he sees Rachel, Laban’s youngest daughter. “Then Jacob went on his journey, and came into the land of the people of the east. And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and a great stone was upon the well’s mouth. And while he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep: for she kept them. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother’s brother. And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept. And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be? And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah was tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured.” – Genesis 29:1,2,9-11,15-17.

“shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought?” Jacob agrees to serve Laban seven years in order to wed Rachel, only to be deceived by Laban as he gave him Leah to be his wife, and said he would have to serve him seven more years for Rachel. I use to wonder how he could not have known that it what Leah, but the reason he did not was that in ancient times the wife to be was covered with a veil before they were married, they waited until it was dark before they went into their tent. God used these two women along with two others to Jacob to have twelve sons, those who would fulfill God’s plan to make the great nation in which all nations will be blessed. Everything we do today becomes the path for the things for tomorrow and while we may think we can get away with things, we will surely reap what we sow. God will always give us a chance to make a u-turn before we go down the wrong path, but it we continue, we only have ourselves to blame.

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” – Galatians 6:7-9.

Today’s Prayer: God, You know the path that I take, and while I know that You have a windy and crooked road for me sometimes, Your strength and guidance will help me get to my destination. Lord, lead me and guide me, help me to know the path that You want for me, and let me get through every trial and error along the way. Give me Your wisdom to know the direction You want me to go, and the motivation and willingness to keep going until You get me where You want me to be. In the end, I know that no matter where You take me, my final destination will be with You, and I thank You for that great sacrifice that blessed my life completely. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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