Note: Before I get started I want to say that Isabella and I am back from Europe, the Thanksgiving weekend is over, and I will get back to my normal routine for sending out Today’s Word and recording the videos.
(Read Gen 46:1-4)
This morning we continue our series, “Grace that is Simply Amazing” by continuing with our mini-series entitled, “Grace Based Success (Prosperity)”, by continuing in the story of Joseph. At this point in the story Jacob was convinced Joseph was in Egypt, he was ready to move his family, and he was excited about seeing his long-lost son. Jacob packed up everything he owned and left for Egypt. On the way he stopped near the town of Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God. That night God spoke to him and said, “Jacob! Jacob! I am God, the same God your father worshiped. Don’t be afraid to go to Egypt. I will give you so many descendants that one day they will become a nation. I will go with you to Egypt, and later I will bring your descendants back here. Your son Joseph will be at your side when you die.” God reiterated Jacob’s family’s promise (a.k.a. “The Blessing of Abraham”) to reassure him that he was doing the right thing. I love it when God gives us reassurances, because they don’t always come as we live the life of faith. But they do come when we need them the most and Jacob clearly needed it.
Jacob’s journey to Egypt with his entire family was a critical hinge-point the history of the Jewish people. To better understand what was going on in the “big picture” of God’s plan we have to go back to Jacob’s grandfather Abraham. Back when Abraham was still referred to as Abram, God spoke to him and said, “Abram, you will live to an old age and die in peace. But I solemnly promise that your descendants will live as foreigners in a land that doesn’t belong to them. They will be forced into slavery and abused for 400 years. But I will be the judge of that nation whose servants they are, and they will come out from among them with great wealth” (Gen 15:13,14).
Jacob knew the promise made to his grandfather and he also knew that someway, somehow his people would wind up as slaves in a foreign land for 400 years, just as God said. But I don’t think Jacob understood how important his decision to move to Egypt was. I don’t believe he knew his decision was part of God’s overall plan. As Jacob and his family moved to Egypt it set the ‘wheels in motion’ for his family to fall into slavery to the Egyptians. Whether he knew it or not, something worth bringing out is that he was still operating at the “family stage”. God’s original promise to Abraham was to make of him a “great nation” (Gen 12:2). Well, several years and two generations later, they were blessed, but they were still just a family. God reiterated to Jacob that some day his family would become a nation. The Bible tells us that there were 70 people in Jacob’s family (Gen 46:27). A family with 70 members is a pretty big family, but it is far from being a nation. My point is that Jacob’s family of 70, under the pressure of 400 years of bondage under the Egyptians, would come out as millions of people, who would then form the nation (Israel) God promised they would become.
So what does this mean to you today? There is a lot here, but I will only point out a few things:
1. God knows what He’s doing. God is sovereign. He has a grand plan for your life and He helps you along the way — nudging you here and pushing you there — to make decisions that line up with His best for your life. You must get to the point where you trust God even when you don’t know what He’s doing. In the case of Jacob and his family, the Lord used Egypt and the wealth the Egyptians generated during the 400 years they had Jacob’s family in bondage to become the money used to later establish the nation of Israel. So don’t fret when it looks like things are working against you. God has a way of making everything work out for your good – by His grace, because He loves you.
2. Embrace the grace to thrive under pressure. Some people buckle under pressure. Others seemingly embrace the pressure and thrive under it. Which one are you? The people of God in Egypt exponentially multiplied under pressure and you can do the same. Don’t ever think you can’t take it. Don’t ever allow the enemy to cause you to feel like what you are facing is too much for you to handle. If you are facing it, God trusts you with it, and He has ALREADY give you the grace to overcome it. When it’s all said and done, it will work out for your good and you will have a great testimony.
3. The Blessing is always working. I am sure the descendants of Jacob questioned whether or not the blessing of Abraham was still in operation while they were in bondage to the Egyptians. I am sure frustration set in from time to time. I am sure they did not know what was going on, nor did they understand the big picture. But God was still God, His plan was still in motion and His Blessing was still working. So you must trust God and you have to believe His blessing is still working, even when you have no idea how it’s going to work out. You have to believe it is going to work out for your good.
a) Trust God, even when you can’t trace Him.
b) When you face a difficult situation, don’t buckle under the pressure, embrace God’s grace to overcome it, and believe it is going to work out for your good.
c) No matter what it looks like, always know that God’s Blessing is working in your life and it is working for your good!
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your grace and my requirement to live by faith. You made plans for me before the world began and You made those plans by grace. You then watch over my life, day by day, helping me to make decisions that line up with Your plans. You freely offer me Your best by grace and You teach me to use my faith to access it. But this does not mean I will not face challenges. The devil is not going to idly sit by and watch as I enjoy Your best. The enemy will do all he can to derail me from my destiny. The good news is that nothing satan does is news to You. Even when I’m surprised, I find peace in the fact that You are not surprised. You are not moved by anything that happens, because You already knew what would happen and You have already given me the grace to overcome it. Not only that, but You have also already set it up to work out for my good. So no matter what comes my way, I am convinced that You are ON me, IN me, WITH me, and FOR me. I am convinced Your blessing is always working and I find peace in the fact that it will all work together for my good. When the pressure is on me, I know I will come out the other side of the pressure better than how I went it, because Your Blessing is always working in my life! I declare this by faith! In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
