Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples. There he saw a well in the field, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. The stone over the mouth of the well was large. When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well's mouth and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well. Jacob asked the shepherds, "My brothers, where are you from?" "We're from Haran," they replied. He said to them, "Do you know Laban, Nahor's grandson?" "Yes, we know him," they answered. Then Jacob asked them, "Is he well?" "Yes, he is," they said, "and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep." "Look," he said, "the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture." "We can't," they replied, "until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep." While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and Laban's sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle's sheep. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud. He had told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah. So she ran and told her father. As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister's son, he hurried to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Jacob told him all these things. Then Laban said to him, "You are my own flesh and blood." Genesis 29:1-14
Jacob had been traveling for some time when he came upon a group of shepherds tending to their flocks. These are the first people we read about that Jacob encounters from the time he was sent off by Isaac. It’s important to keep in mind that they didn’t have the navigational aids that technology has provided us in more modern times. Jacob didn’t have a compass or GPS or ONSTAR…but He had something better. He had God.
God led Jacob to this shepherd encounter…to the place He wanted Jacob to be…to the place He also wanted Jacob’s future wife to be. The world would call this coincidence and chance. The people of God call it the very workings of His will and way for us. Trust in this…the Lord will always put us where He wants us to be…and He always will lead us to the purpose He has for us once there.
For Jacob and Rachel, God brought them both there to look each other in the eye and feel the love He had in store for them. This feeling so moved Jacob that he kissed her and "weeped aloud". This woman, the daughter of Laban, was to be his wife, just as Isaac had requested.
Jacob also explained to Rachel that he was family, a relative of her father Laban. This prompted her to run to tell her father who "hurried to meet" Jacob. And just as you would expect from a loving family member, Laban "embraced…and kissed (Jacob) and brought him to his home proclaiming, "You are my own flesh and blood." The Lord had led Jacob to where Isaac had asked him to go…but it wasn’t so much that as it was that God led Jacob there because He wanted Jacob there. For Laban was about to learn an important life lesson and God was ready to teach it to him.
Question: Where are you at in life right now? Have you taken the proper time to think about why God has you where you are right now? Have you turned over your life to the awesome power and wonder of His will?
God is always ready to lead us and guide us through this worldly life experience. If we place our trust in Him, He will always put us in the places He wants us to be to either minister to another person in need or to be spiritually developed and strengthened as we carry on this Christian Walk we’re traveling. We need not ever wonder why God is leading us somewhere…just be open to what He will do in and through us once we get there. In Jacob’s case, the Lord led him to his future wife. God has a plan for us as well. The exciting part of life is patiently waiting for Him to reveal what He has in store for us. Remember…although we might travel without sure navigation, we only need turn to the master navigator…the captain of our lives. Welcome Him aboard and get underway toward the place He wants you to be.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
No comments:
Post a Comment