It is quite natural for everyone to desire to be blessed and to be successful in life. To fulfill that desire and to come up in life, we may at times attempt to use all kinds of human methods which may not have God's approval. But God knows how to bless us and when to bless us. Our thought for reflection this Friday morning is, “God Always Wants Us to Patiently Wait for His Time to be Blessed and to be Successful in Life.”
Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may give me your blessing”
(Genesis 27:19)
Jacob is a typical example in the Bible of a man who uses all kinds of human, dubious, not-God-approved ways to be successful in life. He even went to the extent of giving a spiritual colour or dimension to justify his wrong methods to be successful.
1. Jacob deceived his father in order to receive his earthly blessings.
It is very surprising to find Jacob's mother Rebekah, teaching him how to deceive his father.
She said to Jacob, “So I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it. Then take it to your father to eat, so that he may give you his blessing before he dies”
(Genesis 27:9-10)
Wearing the clothes of Esau and disguising like his brother, Jacob served his father the food cooked by his mother, and succeeded in receiving the blessings of the firstborn. God's blessings promised to Abraham were of international dimension in the blessing to the nations and Jacob was supposed to be the one to be the channel of those blessings. But he failed to wait for them to be fulfilled but was interested in the immediate benefits in the family circle and in farming. Are we rushing to become successful through our own ways instead of waiting for God to bless us?
2. Jacob deprived his brother of his blessings in order to be successful.
God had already promised that it would be not Esau but Jacob who would carry forward the blessings, promised to Abraham. As such, there was no need for Jacob to rob his brother of blessings which were due to the eldest son. In fact the traditional family blessings that Jacob and his mother Rebekah valued so highly were irrelevant to Jacob's life. It is also very sad to see Jacob, tricking his elderly father, depriving his brother of his blessings and running away with something that did not belong to him. When Jacob robbed Esau of his blessings, Isaac told Esau,
“Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessings”
(Genesis 27:35)
Are we jealous of the success of others or graving for the blessings that God has reserved for others like Jacob?
Are we often being tempted to use all kinds of human, worldly methods to be successful in life like Jacob? Shall we commit to live a life of faithful trust in God and wait patiently for him to bless us and give us success in life? Let's pray.
“Dear Lord, forgive me for using my own human methods and ways to be successful in my life, business and ministry. Help me to be faithful in whatever job, business or ministry that you have entrusted in my hands. I will patiently wait for you to bless me andmake be successful in everything I do! In Jesus' name,... Amen!”
Blessed weekend