Remembering His Promises.

My dear friend, Cameo, and I are reading through Genesis together. A couple days ago, I read the first half of Genesis 33, which recounts the time when Jacob is returning to his homeland with his wives, children, servants, and livestock. But he is returning to more than just his homeland--he is returning to his twin brother, Esau. Many, many years before, when Jacob still lived with his parents, Isaac and Rebekah, and his brother, Jacob disguised himself as his brother and deceived his father into giving him Esau's blessing. As the firstborn, Esau was meant to receive his father's blessing, but Jacob received it instead, fulfilling what God had told Rebekah when she was pregnant with her sons: "Two nations are in your womb ... one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger" (Gen. 25:23). Understandably, Esau was very angry with Jacob for what he had done and swore that once their father was dead he would kill Jacob. Rebekah told Jacob to flee from her brother's wrath to his uncle, Laban, until Esau's anger subsided, and then he could safely return to them.

Flash forward many years and Jacob is now finally returning to his homeland. He does not know if Esau is still plotting to kill him, so he sends a messenger ahead of him to tell Esau that he is coming, that he might "find favor in [his] eyes" (Gen. 32:5). When the messenger returns, he tells Jacob, "We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him" (v. 6). Immediately, Jacob is filled with fear and dread that his brother is coming with an army to annihilate him and his family out of vengeance for what Jacob did to him so many years before.

That night, Jacob prays, "O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O LORD, who said to me, 'Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,' I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness You have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed the Jordan, but now I have become two groups. Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. But You have said, 'I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendents like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted'" (v. 9-12).

As I read this prayer, I was greatly moved by the manner in which Jacob prayed to God. Within his prayer, Jacob acknowledges his unworthiness to receive the amazing blessings God has poured out on him, and he praises God for His faithfulness and love toward him. What struck me most, however, was how Jacob repeated in his prayer promises that God had made to him, to prosper him and his descendents. Jacob may have been praying this as a way of saying, "God, remember the promises You made to me and protect me from Esau's wrath. Do not forget Your promises!" God, of course, never forgets anything ;), but there are times in our lives when it feels as if He has, and in those moments, it is very hard not to cry out to the Lord to show us evidence of His promises in our lives, that He will be faithful to fulfill them.

I think this was partly what Jacob was doing when he prayed this prayer. Because he recognized the faithfulness of God within his prayer, I think he had faith that God was him, but I also think that, in his fear, he needed God to remind him that He remembered His promises to Jacob, and that is partly why he "reminded" God of His promises as he prayed.

However, I also think Jacob chose to incorporate God's promises within his prayer because he needed to remember them. Overwhelmed with fear and worry at the uncertainty of his situation, Jacob probably could not see how his impending encounter with Esau could possibly end well. However, rather than allow his fears to fill his head with a myriad of doubts about the future (none of which he could know for certain would come to pass), Jacob chose to cling to what he knew and believed was certain: the promises of God. God's past faithfulness in his life had taught Jacob to run to those promises in times of uncertainty, and to cling to the encouragement and assurance of God's protection and love that they gave. If God said he was to become a great nation, then, by golly, somehow God would deliver him from Esau, and that is what Jacob chose to believe. As it turns out, Jacob's faith in God's promises was justified:

"Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two maidservants. He put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother. But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept" (Gen. 33:1-4). :)

I am encouraged by Jacob's prayer and faith, and especially by God's unceasing faithfulness, to respond as Jacob did when fears and uncertainties about the future creep into my heart and mind. I pray that all of us would choose in those moments to remember the awesome promises of God He has given to us throughout His Word, to strengthen us when we are weak, to encourage us when we are discouraged, to calm us when we are afraid, and to give us peace to rest in Him when the circumstances around us are uncertain.

Recently, Brian and I were in San Antonio for a soccer tournament that his soccer team was in. We had a wonderful time and got to visit with some dear friends and family! On the way home, I was giving Brian a break from driving and I was behind the wheel. We were nearing Amarillo, where we were going to spend the night, and huge, dark, rainclouds loomed over the horizon before us. On a previous trip through Texas, we had driven through a rainstorm that caused our visibility to be less than zero, and this was during the daytime. This time, it was almost 9pm and getting darker by the minute. We had not yet reached the rain, but as I peered at the massive clouds before us, the sheets of rain in the distance, and the lightning dancing across the sky, I could not help but be filled with a lingering sense of fear and dread. But then, I remembered Jacob and his prayer...

I remembered the many times before when God has protected me, and Brian, through dangerous weather, and I remembered God's promises to never leave me or forsake me, that He is my refuge and my strength, and that He will work everything for the good of those who love Him. I wish I could say that my fear ceased completely at that moment and that I drove into the rain with a huge smile on my face...but I didn't. What I can say is that as I remembered His faithfulness, His promises, and prayed to Him for protection, my fears were not as great as they had been and a feeling of peace settled over me. When we reached the rain, it was completely dark, but the rain only lasted a few minutes and, though it was strong, it was not as bad as we had experienced before. God protected us, just as He has always done before, and we made it safely to our hotel...and, I hope, my faith grew a little more. I praised and thanked God for protecting us and for helping me to remember the lesson He had taught me and for helping me to apply it in that uncertain situation.

Once again, my faith in God's faithfulness, in His promises, was justified, just as Jacob's was. It is my prayer that the next time I am faced with feelings of fear and anxious thoughts of the future, when I am surrounded by uncertain circumstances, that I will remember His past faithfulness, will remember the certainty of God's promises, and will allow them to replace my fear and doubt with peace and faith to rest in Him. I pray this for you as well!

Lord God, thank You for Your unfailing love and faithfulness toward those who seek Your face and rest in the enduring promises that You have given to us. I pray that You would help me, and all of us, to look to You when we are overcome by fear and worry and that You will help us to remember Your promises. Thank You for the greatest promise of eternal life that You have given to us through Your Son, Jesus Christ! May our greatest source of strength, peace, comfort, and hope be always found in Him. I love You. In Your holy Name I pray, Amen.

Therefore...

I read through Colossians again not very long ago. It is a short but extremely profound, wonderful book of the Bible, filled with awesome reminders and lessons. This time, while I was reading chapter 3, I noticed something that I had never seen before. Verses 12 through 15 are some of the most well-known verses in that chapter. They read:

"Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace" (NIV).

Such profound truths permeate this passage of Scripture! Truths that I desperately needed (need) to be reminded of. But I was particularly drawn to the word: "Therefore." I have learned that whenever you see words like "therefore" in the Bible, it is always prudent to figure out what the "therefore" is referring to. "Therefore, as God's chosen people" demonstrate selfless acts of love toward each other that are really hard to do! But why are they so hard to do? That's where the "therefore" comes in...

In verse 11, Paul writes, in reference to the body of Christ: "Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all." Spiritually, Paul is entirely correct. In Christ, we are all called to be one and we are one in Christ, because of our mutual faith in His sacrificial death for us on the cross. 

However, in our flesh, we are still "Greeks" and "Jews," "barbarians" and "Scythians," "slaves" and "freemen." Essentially, we are people who are vastly different from each other and usually have a very hard time reconciling those differences...Therefore, it is going to be extremely hard for us to always demonstrate compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness toward one another, and as a result, peace will be very hard to come by. 

This is exactly why Paul admonishes us to clothe ourselves with Christ, because Jesus was the only one on this earth who was able to look beyond anything and love anyone without having to first wrestle with His flesh. Apart from Christ, we can't overcome the irritation, annoyance, or even aversion that our differences can sometimes cause (and will cause) toward other believers--even toward the people we love the most.

I have learned that God does not command us to do anything that He knows we are capable of doing on our own already, and He does not command us to do anything without a very specific purpose. For example, if God knew it was second nature for us to treat one another with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, He never would have commanded us throughout the Bible to do so. And God never would have commanded us to forgive one another as He has forgiven us, or even to live in peace with one another, if He did not know that we would be hurt many times, whether in big ways or small ways, by our brothers and sisters in Christ, or if He did not know that peace would be something we would have to fight for.

This is why I think Paul wrote "Therefore" at the beginning of verse 12. He knew that even though all those Greeks and Jews, barbarians and Scythians, slaves and freemen were now one in Christ, in their flesh they would still struggle greatly to overcome their differences. Differences which would warrant them plenty of opportunity to demonstrate those many attributes of love toward one another. Differences which would make loving each other in those ways all the more vital if they were to truly live in peace with one another, as one in Christ.

I thank God for the "Therefore" in that passage, because it made verses 12-15 all the more meaningful and applicable to me. I have no problem recognizing the differences between me and those around me, whether they are strangers or loved ones, and I have no problem recognizing those differences that bug me and consequently cause me to act less-than-loving toward others. Therefore, I can see all the more clearly now why God commands me to show compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience toward my brothers and sisters in Christ; why He commands me to forgive them as He has forgiven my sins and faults; and why I am going to have to fight for oneness and peace as much as it depends on me. 
  
Living as one in Christ is not easy, but praise be to God that He did not simply say "there is no more Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, Scythian, slave or free," but He showed us how to be one in Christ by denying our flesh and demonstrating His love toward one another. Praise God that we do not have to do this on our own, but that He covers us with His love and enables us to love each other as He first loved us. 

Praise God for the "Therefore"...

Abba Father, I do praise You for the "Therefore." Thank You for the reminder--of the differences that exist between other believes and myself and the conflicts they will create--that comes before it, and for the guidance--to know how to overcome my flesh and love despite those differences--that comes after it. Most of all, thank You that I do not have to depend on my own strength or wisdom to love when it is so hard to love, but that You have clothed me with Your strength and wisdom to enable me to do so. Thank You for dearly loving me. I love You too. In Your holy name I pray, Amen.

A Rose of Thorns

For several months now (perhaps even years), I have contemplated whether or not I should begin a blog. Recently, my sister, Grace, started a blog (songofpraise.wordpress.com), in which she shares the lessons God is teaching her through her quiet time with Him, and I have been extremely blessed by what she has shared in her blog. I found myself beginning to think more seriously about starting my own blog, that I might also share what the Lord is teaching me with others, and I finally decided to stop stalling, start one, and see what happens.

This, then, is the beginning of a new adventure for me. An opportunity for the Lord to humble me, refine me, draw me closer to Him, and use me, I pray, to encourage and uplift others along the way. In case y'all are wondering, I chose "roseofthorns7" as my blog address, not just because my last name is Thorn ;), but because it is an illustration of how I see myself in Christ. God has known me since eternity past and I am created exactly as He meant me to be. I was created to reflect His beauty and glory to this world, just as the rose does. I am a new creation in Christ, but I am still a flawed girl. I struggle to become more like Jesus each day, but so often all I can see are the thorns of sin that still pierce my flesh, heart, and mind, rather than God's amazing love and grace that have covered them all. 

My blog then is not only meant, Lord willing, to be a source of encouragement to others (which is one of my greatest desires!), but it is also a tool which I feel the Lord desires to use to transform my heart and mind to be more in line with His truth. Rather than trying to battle my thorns on my own, I want to embrace the truth that Jesus' power and strength is within me and with me each day to strengthen me when I am weak, to pick me up when I fall, and to quiet my soul when I am overwhelmed. I want to grow in the knowledge that I am a "rose" that He loves and cherishes and is faithfully pruning each day so that my thorns will no longer be a shameful reminder of my sins but rather a joyful reflection of His glory!

Lord, may this be A New Beginning in my life, the start of knowing You more, and of learning to know and believe who I am in You. Thank You for the new beginning that each day brings, for the opportunity to trust that Your mercies are new every morning and that You are faithful, even when I am faithless. Thank You for Your amazing love that never ends. I love You! In Your holy and precious Name I pray, Amen.