OUR MASTER NAVIGATOR

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

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

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Dispatched to Paddan Aram to seek a wife from the daughters of Laban, his mother’s brother, we find where Jacob had been traveling for some time when he came upon a group of shepherds who were tending to their flocks. Of interest, these are the first people that Jacob has encountered on his entire trip.

Now, it’s important to remember that travelers in biblical times didn’t have the technologically advanced navigational aids that we enjoy in present times. And so Jacob didn’t have a compass or global positioning system (aka GPS). He didn’t even have a map but he did have something even better than any of these for he had God.

You see, it was God who led Jacob to the shepherd encounter we read about in our passage today. It was He who put Jacob in the place that He wanted him to be, the place where he would bring Jacob’s future wife to. The world would call this a mere coincidence but the true people of God know that He is working in everything so to accomplish His purposes.

What’s our takeaway?

It’s that we can always trust that our Lord will put us where He wants us to be, leading us there for a purpose He designed.

In this case, it was for Jacob and Rachel to meet one another and the scriptures show us how the love they had for each other was immediate. There was an instant connection as they experienced what God had in store for them. We read where the moment overwhelmed Jacob who had traveled so far to find his bride. The scriptures tell is that he kissed Rachel and wept aloud for this woman, the daughter of Laban, would soon be his wife, satisfying what his father had requested.

Well, after his outward showing of affection, Jacob explained to Rachel that he was family, a relative of her father. This revelation prompted her to run and tell Laban who we read "hurried to meet" Jacob, embracing and kissing him before bringing him to his home, proclaiming:

"You are my own flesh and blood."

Indeed, the Lord had led Jacob to where Isaac had asked him to go but it wasn’t so much to satisfy what Isaac wanted. Rather, God led Jacob to Rachel because He wanted Jacob there and as we will see, Isaac’s son is going to learn an important life lesson, one which God is going to gladly teach.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, our message today shows us that God is always ready to lead us and guide us through our respective worldly life experiences and if we place our trust in Him, He will always put us in the places He wants us to be to carry out what He wants us to do.

This might be to minister to another person in need. It might be to get spiritually developed and strengthened as we walk with our Lord daily. Ultimately, we don’t need to ever wonder why God is leading us somewhere. We just need to ever allow Him to bring us through whatever He brings us to.

In Jacob’s case, the Lord led him to his future wife. He has a plan for us as well and for me, the exciting part of life is patiently waiting for Him to reveal what He has in store for me. For although we might travel through life’s circumstances without sure navigation, we only need turn to our Lord, the Master Navigator and Captain of our lives.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.