Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I'm disgusted with living because of these Hittite women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land, from Hittite women like these, my life will not be worth living. So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him and commanded him: "Do not marry a Canaanite woman. Go at once to Paddan Aram, to the house of your mother's father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself there, from among the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and increase your numbers until you become a community of peoples. May he give you and your descendants the blessing given to Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land where you now live as an alien, the land God gave to Abraham." Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau. Now Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to take a wife from there, and that when he blessed him he commanded him, "Do not marry a Canaanite woman,"and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had gone to Paddan Aram. Esau then realized how displeasing the Canaanite women were to his father Isaac; so he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, in addition to the wives he already had." Genesis 27:46-47, 28:1-9
One of the biggest stumbling blocks we fall over as we seek to find contentment in life is that we seek to please people instead of the Lord. Maybe you can relate. I know I can. Whether it’s our parents, our spouse, our children, our co-workers, our boss, our fellow Christian brothers and sisters…there is no shortage of people we’re around that want to be pleased in some way. We seem to always be under constant pressure to keep everyone happy…and everyone wants something different from you to make them happy, often times contradicting one another. We end up frustrated…despaired…stressed… unhappy because we can’t make everyone happy. We wonder to ourselves, "Will I ever be able to please everyone?"
Well, if we asked the Lord, He would answer with a resounding "NO!" In fact, He would let you know in a hurry that trying to please man or woman is pure folly. He doesn’t want you to live in a way that seeks to please people…He wants you to live in a way that please Him. You see…that’s the key to breaking this endless frustration of unsuccessfully pleasing everyone. For if we are pleasing God in the way we live, everything else will fall into place. If living in a way that pleases God, doesn’t please others, then simply say that you’re sorry but there simply isn’t any other way that you are going to live. The Lord would tell us not to conform to ways of the world but instead conform to His ways…always. Not just sometimes, all the times.
So how does this have anything to do with our scripture today? Well, Esau, fresh off his murderous intentions in wanting to knock off Jacob to get his blessing back, decides to do something else to get back into good favor with his father. Hearing that Jacob was ordered to not marry a Canaanite woman as he was sent away to take a wife from Laban’s (Rebekah’s brother) daughters, Esau decided to marry a woman first who was not a Canaanite…and not only this but to marry a woman who was akin to the great Abraham (one of Ishmael’s daughter). Surely, Esau had a motive in mind and sought to please his father before he thought about pleasing the Lord. He was carrying out his own will instead of asking the Lord what His will was for him.
Question: How often are you seeking the Lord to find out what His will is for you? How often in the midst of difficult circumstances are you asking the Lord to revel His will for you? How often do you seek to please people vice seek to please the Lord with everything you do in your life?
Maybe this devotion has spoken to your heart. Maybe it has shown you that you need to turn your eyes more toward to Lord than others. Maybe it has served to break the bondage of others who might have you ready to breakdown because you feel like a failure…all because you feel like you haven’t pleased them or could ever please them. Maybe just maybe…these words…spoken to you through me by the Father, have caused you to vow to only seek to please Him from here on out. This is my prayer for you. Where you have multiple expectations when you live to please people, God has only one set of expectations…only one set of standards…and the good news is that He’s always ready to help us meet them. We’re never in this alone.
Find peace in this truth…find joy in this truth…and rest peacefully in the arms of the Father who loves you. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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