day no. 14,229: always seen and heard

Genesis 31:50

If you oppress my daughters, or if you take wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us, see, God is witness between you and me.

 

Even when no one else sees, God sees. Even when no one else knows, God knows. This is the great comfort of the child of God and the great terror of those who oppose Him.

day no. 14,228: you are

Jeremiah 23:33

When one of this people, or a prophet or a priest asks you, "What is the burden of the Lord?" you shall say to them, "You are."

This is one of the greatest comebacks of all time. So much so that we still use it. And to make matters even better, this is God instructing Jeremiah on how to respond to his critics. "You are!" was God's idea.

day no. 14,227: father and husband hunger... satisfied

Genesis 29:30

So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years.

Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah and everyone knew. Jacob knew it. Rachel knew it. Leah knew it. And God knew it…

Genesis 29:31

When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.

When no one else was looking out for Leah, God saw her and provided for her. Her father offloaded her, her husband ignored it, but God took notice and took care of her…

Genesis 29:35

And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing.

And finally, God won her over. While the sting of being ignored and overlooked still stung, the attention God gave her served as salve for her wounds. He was the Father and Husband she always wanted. Leah could have just as easily said that she didn't need a father or a husband because they failed to live up to her desires. But the longing of her soul was not to be fatherless or husbandless, but to find a father and a husband that matched the depth of her true desires. In God, she found both.

day no. 14,226: the long and short of it

Genesis 29:20

So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her.

 

7 years ago I had a 1 1/2 year old son and a 6 month old daughter. I had never purchased a home or planted a church. Today, I have an 8 year old son, a 7 year old daughter, a 5 year old son, a 4 year old daughter, a 1 year old son, and a 3 month old baby girl. I've bought 3 homes and planted 2 churches. This all happened in the same amount of time that flew by for Jacob as he worked and waited to marry Rachel.

day no. 14,225: baby steps

Genesis 28:20-22

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you."

 

Often our initial steps toward Jesus are clumsy. Here Jacob begins to lean in, but his heart is still clouded with caveats. His initial interaction with God is one of quid pro quo. As painful as this is to watch, it is likely akin to the place many of us who now maturely live began. There is a lot of good in this, a heart that wants to receive and to give, but it is a young, immature faith. That said, the smallest degree of genuine faith when present, even in an otherwise dirty soul, will eventually spring up to fruitful life.

day no. 14,224: the former and the ladder

Genesis 28:12

And (Jacob) dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!

 

Jesus makes it clear in John 1:51 that He is the ladder that connects Heaven to earth. Jesus is Heaven descending to bless the earth. Jesus is the escalator upwards bringing the sons of men to the presence of God. There is one bridge between God and man, the Godman, Jesus Christ who here appears to Jacob.

day no. 14,223: hit points

"If you throw a rock into a pack of stray dogs, the one that yelps is the one that got hit." - D. L. Moody

 

Whenever you try to preach or teach a Biblical principle to a group in general, you will find a few individuals who take exception. This means your words are hitting their mark.