Monday Reading: Genesis 46:1-4
Key Verse: Genesis 46:2
2 And God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob! And he said, Here I am.
Devotion:
What words really catch your attention? What name makes you respond quicker than others? Jacob’s name had been changed to Israel but on this occasion God wants to get his attention quickly and calls him by his original name. We could go into debate about what it meant but I like to keep things simple – God simply wanted Jacob’s attention! Getting someone’s attention is only the first step because what follows is normally trying to get them to do something...
Sometimes it takes a bit more than just a word from someone before you will do something for them. Sometimes you get caught up with your emotions and you ignore what should otherwise be the obvious. When we get upset or angry because of what is being said we may well start to ignore things that are being said as we focus on our own feeling instead of the big picture. If you look back at the things that you have been asked to do you may well find a parallel between the things you did not do and your feelings at the time. If we are angry or upset then we may well be less likely to do things.
The same can be said about being scared – we tend to ignore things being said when we are scared because we are very focus on the things that are making us scared. This could well be you being scared about doing work for God because you feel like you are not ready or that you are in some way not good enough! If God though that you were not good enough or that you were lacking in some way He would be teaching you and giving you wisdom to tackle the situation that lies ahead rather than allowing you to face something that He knows you cannot cope with... Or it could be that He knows that you can cope with it! God may well be willing to take you out of your comfort zone knowing that that is what is required to get you to be useful for Him – but you must still be willing to give Him a chance!
Points to Ponder:
Do you think you are lacking in some way?
Are you trusting that God actually does know best?
Key Verse: Genesis 46:2
2 And God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob! And he said, Here I am.
Devotion:
What words really catch your attention? What name makes you respond quicker than others? Jacob’s name had been changed to Israel but on this occasion God wants to get his attention quickly and calls him by his original name. We could go into debate about what it meant but I like to keep things simple – God simply wanted Jacob’s attention! Getting someone’s attention is only the first step because what follows is normally trying to get them to do something...
Sometimes it takes a bit more than just a word from someone before you will do something for them. Sometimes you get caught up with your emotions and you ignore what should otherwise be the obvious. When we get upset or angry because of what is being said we may well start to ignore things that are being said as we focus on our own feeling instead of the big picture. If you look back at the things that you have been asked to do you may well find a parallel between the things you did not do and your feelings at the time. If we are angry or upset then we may well be less likely to do things.
The same can be said about being scared – we tend to ignore things being said when we are scared because we are very focus on the things that are making us scared. This could well be you being scared about doing work for God because you feel like you are not ready or that you are in some way not good enough! If God though that you were not good enough or that you were lacking in some way He would be teaching you and giving you wisdom to tackle the situation that lies ahead rather than allowing you to face something that He knows you cannot cope with... Or it could be that He knows that you can cope with it! God may well be willing to take you out of your comfort zone knowing that that is what is required to get you to be useful for Him – but you must still be willing to give Him a chance!
Points to Ponder:
Do you think you are lacking in some way?
Are you trusting that God actually does know best?