Reuben and a caravan of Ishmaelites

Occasionally the Breath of God will strike something inside of you. For me, today "Reuben.. and a caravan of Ishmaelites" was blown right in my face.

The words come from chapter 37 in Genesis, verses 21 and 25 respectively. Chapter 37 is the first of 14 that give insight into the life of Joseph.

Take a minute to read this passage.

Honestly, I'm not sure of the full extent to which Reuben and the caravan of Ishmaelites affected the life of Joseph, or of mine, but what I do know is that it speaks of a powerful promise of the Lord!

Genesis 37:21 and 25 is the example of the promise given in Proverbs 21:30. "There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord."

brief side-note: Directly following this verse is one that I held on to this weekend, which was a powerful weekend in the life of my home church here - "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord."

How amazing that even when you would think Joseph is at the mercy of the hand of his brothers our God reminds us through Reuben and the caravan of Ishmaelites that "no plan" can succeed against His!

Let your imagination take over as you imagine the caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. What were their previous travel plans? Was it common for Ishmaeilites to come through Dothan? Had they been held up at home and ended up leaving a day later than expected? And what about Reuben? Was it characteristic of him to defend himself to the brothers? What if Reuben was the last person that Joseph expected to stand up for his life?

God sent Reuben and the clan of Ishmaelites because "no plan can succeed against the Lord". You may be feeling at the mercy of a boss, of a friend, of a doctor's diagnosis.. whatever the circumstances, take heart dear brother and sister! Trust God for His Word, believing that no plan will stand against His! It may be an unexpected Reuben or an on point caravan of Ishmaelites - either way, take hold of the promise!

I'm excited to search deeper into the account of the life of Joseph. The life of this 'ordinary Joe' speaks volumes about our great God!

a big big house

One day all the believers will be together. From across the world, across the ages, and across the aisle in church.... a lot of people!

Yet not just 'people' -our brothers and sisters.

At the moment, we are in a temporary home with brothers and sisters that we will soon be with for an eternity, and the eternal soul is veiled with temporary flesh. (Opening up new meaning to 2 Corinthians 4:18 "For what is seen is temporary, what is unseen is eternal".)

Make this applicable to yourself and ask:

Have I been neglecting kindness to brothers and sisters that are nameless to me simply because I do not encounter them in my normal routine?

Do I react to my sister in the Lord out of frustration over a temporary mater, not taking into mind our eternal residence?

When I speak, to I place emphasis on this life or am I encouraging others (Hebrews 10:24) with the hope of heaven?

We must make ourselves aware that every day we see the face of people whom we will one day share residence with in the "big big house" that is our Father's mansion.

And with that, we ought to do more for those siblings that we might never see. Isaiah 1:17 says to "seek justice". The needs of others won't always be presented before us- sometimes you will have to seek it out. And for the sake of Family unity - the blessed Family of God- may we be seekers of the unseen!

something I can never get away from

whew what a week.

repetition repetition repetition.

reoccurring themes.

It's funny to me how God works.

Have you ever noticed yourself really struggling with something only to encounter that topic multiple times throughout that season through typically the most unexpected avenues?

"The Word (breath of God) is living and active."

Hebrews 4:12 (2 Timothy 3:16)

Confession is good. Being real with yourself, even in the presence of others, is a good thing.

And as much as I have been focused on myself, and my sin this week, I can't get away from the word of God.

It always finds me.

Early in the morning, in a song, through a friend, in a thought, hidden in a picture, a sunrise... it always finds me. He always finds me.

And that's just it. It is proof that like in Matthew 9:12&13 the Doctor has come for the sick. "The Son of Man- to seek and save that which was lost." Luke 19:10

He is with me "to rescue and to save" me. Jeremiah 15:20

I can't get away from it. "From the depths of the earth You will again bring me up." Psalm 71:20

It's not about me.

"Prone to wonder Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart O take and seal it, seal it for Thy courts above."

I'm never not findable.

The breath of God still blows on me. It is always on point. It's always relatable. It is always inspiring.

The best news of all: I'm not left to myself to work this out!!

Truly Your word O Lord is something I can never get away from!

Let Thy grace Lord like a fetter (shackle) bind my wandering heart to Thee!

attitude of expectancy

This morning has been too on point for me to throughly communicate the specifics. During a break I picked up where I had left off in "the me I want to be"- an excellent book by John Ortberg.

"God is not mad at me for not reading the Bible... What I need to ask is What can I feed my mind with so that it will flourish. ... The reason to read the Bible is not to fulfill a spiritual duty or to gain more knowledge. ... Let's not try harder. Let's try softer."

A theme of my life recently has been one of dryness, not in all aspects, more specifically when it comes to reading Scripture. My solution for this was to try harder- by journaling more, reading at a different time, focusing more (at least attempting to) and even changing the location - which aren't bad things in themselves.

What I'm realizing though, is that I am starting from the wrong place.

"Delighting in God's law starts with a vision of being loved by God."

John goes on to reference Philippians 4:8- saying that we have freedom to let our minds flourish in 'whatever...'.

I wish that I could communicate all the different ways John highlighted to experience the flow of the Spirit through Scripture. What is of cornerstone importance is to start with the vision of being loved by God. While in periods of dryness it is wise to make yourself aware of the sin that is keeping you from God, I think that now is a time when I just need to think of God. And once I take that with me- and begin to look at Scripture through the wonder of His love I should go back to the familiar Bible stories and let my imagination and curiosity take over. I can use specific attitudes and traits that God has created in me to lead me in growing along with Him.

It's a beautiful day when God meets our struggles with His assurance, takes hold of us and enables us to grow from where we are.

Oh my soul rejoice! Take joy my King in what You hear- may it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear.