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.
Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling and said, "What is this that God has done to us?"
When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said, "The man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to us and treated us as though we were spying on the land. But we said to him, 'We are honest men; we are not spies. We were twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.'
"Then the man who is lord over the land said to us, 'This is how I will know whether you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your starving households and go. But bring your youngest brother to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the land.'"
As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man's sack was his pouch of silver! When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened. Their father Jacob said to them, "You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!”
Then Reuben said to his father, "You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back.”
But Jacob said, "My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow."
Genesis 42:28b-38
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
After a brief break to celebrate Father’s Day, we head back to the story of Joseph and pick up after Joseph had sent his brothers back home to their father Jacob minus Simeon. You’ll recall that Joseph had demanded that the brothers come back to Egypt the youngest, Benjamin, to prove that they could be trusted after accusing them of being spies.
And so in Genesis, chapter 42, we read where the nine brothers (minus Simeon) returned to their father Jacob with not only the grain he sent them for but also a report of all that had transpired in Egypt. The scriptures tell is that they detailed their encounter with the "lord over the land" (Joseph himself) and his accusation that they were spies. They then broke down the demand from the Egyptian leader (Joseph), a demand that involved them returning to Egypt with Benjamin so to prove their trustworthiness. They then would be able to get Simeon back before returning home.
Now, to the brothers, the solution seemed rather simple. All they needed to do is go back to Egypt with Benjamin to show they were indeed honest, and then get Simeon back so they could come home. To them, the plan seemed easy enough but then a couple of complications arose.
First, as they emptied their sacks of grain, "there in each man's sack was his pouch of silver", the same sack of silver they used to pay for the grain in Egypt. The scriptures tell us that upon discovering this, the brothers and Jacob “were frightened."
Why?
Because they were afraid that they would now be accused of being thieves as well as spies, unbeknownst that Joseph had intentionally returned their money to them as a gesture of goodwill and grace.
Secondly, there was the reaction of Jacob. For we read where he was extremely upset over the news from Egypt.
We need to keep in mind that he thinks Joseph is dead and now Simeon is being held under the charge of spying, a charge he knows is punishable by death. Now, on top of all that, the nine sons who returned wanted to take Benjamin back to Egypt to get Simeon back. Unsurprisingly, Jacob’s mind immediately thought the worse as he said:
"I have already lost one son. I can’t bear to lose another and Simeon is already in custody. Do I lose him and Benjamin, the only other son I had with my beloved Rachel?"
In Jacob’s view, the entire scenario was too risky, indicated by what he says next:
"You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!"
Sensing the desperation and difficulty of the situation amidst the complicated feelings of his father, we read where Reuben, Jacob’s oldest son, offered a proposal that had to seem as preposterous as the original, if not more. For Reuben tells Jacob that he would allow his two sons to be put to death if he failed to bring Benjamin back safely.
In response, we find where Jacob was unmoved, reasserting his stance with the following words:
"My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow."
And so things were at an impasse.
Benjamin remained in Canaan with his father while Simeon stayed incarcerated in an Egyptian prison.
Friends, this scripture passage today offers us an opportunity to look at a matter we all have to face at some time or another.
I’m talking about the matter of risk and any time risk is in play, we also find another associated principle enter in, the principle of acceptability because the two go hand-in-hand.
In essence, there are really only two approaches to acceptability as it applies to risk: the worldly approach and the Christian approach. Only one of the two will always help us to make the right decision every time when it comes to dealing with risk.
First, let’s look at the worldly approach.
When faced with risk, one assesses the matter either personally or in tandem with advice from external sources. With this approach, we think we or someone else knows best as we rely on our own or another’s understanding. In some circumstances, people even foolishly jump into risky situations without thinking or seeking proper consultation, often with disastrous results. And there are a number of times, when someone has been led down the wrong path after trusting in the advice of others who afterwards weren’t as knowledgeable or wise as they appeared to be.
The problem with the uncertainty that comes with the worldly approach is that the more times we err and suffer the consequences of improper risk taking, the more and more fearful and apprehensive we get when we have to make future risk decisions.
Now, let’s look at the Christian approach to risk acceptability and it’s really fundamental, much easier than the worldly one. For anytime a Christian is faced with a decision involving risk, they only need to turn toward Heaven and consult their Almighty God, the only perfect Advisor in existence, the One who will always lead us in the right way to go and guide us to making the right call every single time.
You see, while we might run the risk of getting varied opinions on what we should do when we ask people of the world, we can rest assured that we will have a consistently correct answer from the Father when we ask Him. After that, all a believer needs to do is respond in obedience.
Therein lays the simple formula for Christian risk assessment. We ask the Father in faith for His divine direction and then we respond to His guidance with total obedience. This means that if our Lord says, “Do this” than we do exactly what He says to do. Conversely, if He warns against doing something, then we had better not do it.
In the end translation, we need to remember that it’s His will that matter, not ours.
Going back to today’s scripture, we find Jacob weighing the risk of either accepting or rejecting his sons’ proposal, but while doing this, he did so based on his own feelings and emotions. His approach was worldly and he wanted his will to be done. That will was centered on his unwillingness to part with Benjamin after believing he had already lost Joseph, his first son born to his beloved Rachel who we know died after delivering Benjamin.
As we’re going to see, Jacob’s worldly approach to risk will have consequences as the grain brought from Egypt begins to run out, once again placing his people on the cusp of starvation. We can’t help but believe that things would have worked out better if Jacob had just gone to God with the matter from the start. For in doing this, we can be sure the Lord would have not only put him at ease but also provided the right plan with the assurance that things would turn out alright. All Jacob would need to do is trust in Him.
Brothers and sisters, our Lord is trying to teach us an important lesson through this account and the actions of Jacob. For when difficult decisions come our way, decisions that involve risk, we need to always turn to God first by praying over the matter at hand and allowing Him to determine our course of action. Then after receiving His guidance, we need to carry out His directions without deviation out of total faith and obedience, understanding that He will always lead us to where He wants us to be so His purposes are accomplished in accordance with His will.
We need to further know that when we do this, when we step out with complete trust in God, we will often be taken outside of our comfort zone. In those times, we shouldn’t be afraid because we need to remember that He is always with us and for us through every journey He calls us to. In other words, He will bring us through whatever He call us to.
Life is full of risks. That is certain but what’s equally certain is that we can always turn to a Lord who always helps us make the right choice when those times comes.
Today and every day, let us give thanks to our God, praising Him for His wisdom, goodness, and care for us.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment