The Holy Spirit wants to break up the hardened places in my life.
Oh, glorious summer! My joy is found on my back deck. The pots of flowers are in full bloom. I sit on my chair, hear the birds in the fir trees, and drink in the beauty. It is glorious! That was not the case a couple of months ago. A lot of preparation is necessary to grow my garden. My trowel dug deep, preparing for the summer’s growth. Planting is messy.
GOD’S DIGGING CAN BE PAINFUL
God digs around a lot in my own life. My soul needs intentional preparation, just like a physical garden, in order to produce glorious blooms. Sometimes God’s digging is painful. Hosea 10:12 reads, …break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you. There are many weeds entrenched in my heart.
THE HARDENED PLACES IN MY HEART
The Holy Spirit wants to break up the hardened places in my life. The places in the back room of my soul where I grow those sins that fester: anger, bitterness, envy, jealousy, etc. They are weeds which need to be mortified. The Holy Spirit’s shovel is necessary to break the roots that strangle my joy.
A HARVEST OF BEAUTIFUL LIFE
God wants to reap in beautiful harvest. His gardening instructions are clear. Don’t be misled: No one makes a fool of God. What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God! —harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8).
Are you ready for God’s glorious blooms to grow in your life? Ask Him to uproot the weeds and prepare the soil for His harvest. It will be glorious!
Wouldn’t it be wonderful for you to have a tent of meeting on your worst days where you can meet with God?
Ever had a really bad day? Poor Moses! In Exodus 32, Moses throws a fit. Coming down from Mount Sinai, Moses flounders. His past 40 days have been spent on the top of a mountain with God. That great spiritual high quickly plummets when Moses sees what his people have been up to.
HOLINESS DASHES TO THE GROUND
Furious Moses slams down the sacred stone tablets (handwritten by God). The fragments scatter at the foot of the mountain. He sees the Israelites consumed in an orgy, celebrating the worship of a self-made golden calf.
A WHOPPER OF AN EXCUSE
While up on the mountain, Moses had left brother Aaron in charge. Excuses run out of Aaron’s mouth. Rather than an immediate repentance of heart, Aaron makes up a whopper of excuse to his brother: Don’t get so upset, my lord,” Aaron replied. “You yourself know how evil these people are. They said to me, ‘Make us gods who will lead us. We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt.’ So, I told them, ‘Whoever has gold jewelry, take it off.’ When they brought it to me, I simply threw it into the fire—and out came this calf! (Exodus 32:22-24). (Remember, I did say it was a whopper of an excuse.)
“Just say no” may have been a good life slogan for Aaron. He is caught with his pants down. The Apostle Paul hit the mark when he wrote: There is no one righteous, not even one (Romans 3:10).
WHERE IS GOD?
Moses desperately needs to see God amid this mess. In Exodus 33:1-23, God gives him the opportunity to set up a “tent of meeting.” This is where God meets with Moses face to face. Wouldn’t it be wonderful for you to have a tent of meeting on your worst days where you can meet with God? A place to talk to Him about the upcoming operation and how scared you are? How about a place to discuss your kids who don’t seem to have an interest in the things of God? Or a safe place to ask those questions when life makes no sense?
GOD’S INVITATION
Oh. Wait. As believers, we already have an eternal tent where He longs for us to communicate daily with Him. For in the day of trouble He will keep me safe in his dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His sacred tent and set me high upon a rock (Psalm 27:5). You don’t have to go to Cabela’s to find God’s tent.
Meet God at the tent of His presence. It is a wonderful place to find His peace. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
I am that person who will watch the beginning of a story and then fast forward to the final ten minutes, just to make sure that it doesn’t have a horrific ending. I hate it when the bad guys win and obliterate the good guys. Honestly, if I read I Kings 19:1-9 and thought that was the end to the entire story, I would not read the rest of Elijah’s biography. In the oratorio “Elijah” there is a solo where the title character sings “It is enough.” He is at the end of his rope.
“Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors’” (I Kings 19:3-4).
Do you hear the agony in Elijah’s voice? Can you picture the despair, exhaustion, and depression of a man who had totally believed God? By Elijah’s prayers severe drought arrived, fire came down from heaven that burnt to a crisp a water-soaked sacrifice, and at the right time, the rain clouds opened up again. In a movie, this would be the triumphant end and the credits would roll. However, a reversal arrives in Elijah’s fortune. Where is God?
THE REVERSAL
The arch villainess, Queen Jezebel, places a bounty on Elijah’s head. He transitions from the man of great faith to a man lying in a fetal position under a broom tree, just wanting to die. He hits bottom. In the oratorio, Elijah’s song, “It Is Enough” begins with a mournful cello solo. He sings, “It is enough! O Lord, now take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers! I desire to live no longer: now let me die, for my days are but vanity. I have been very jealous for the Lord God of Hosts, for the children of Israel have broken Thy covenant, and thrown down Thine altars, and slain all Thy prophets, slain them with the sword. And I, even I only am left: and they seek my life to take it away! It is enough! O Lord, now take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers! Now let me die, Lord, take away my life!”
WHEN YOU CAN’T SEE A FUTURE
God does not condemn Elijah’s breakdown; God enters his pain. I know this God. During my past season with the Lancaster Chorale, I severely injured my back. Just raising my arms in front of me was agony. Restorative sleep was a distant memory. The pain did not let up. “I have had enough, Lord, take my life; I am no better than my ancestors” sounds very similar to my state of mind. Extreme discouragement and I became fast friends. Neither Elijah nor I could see a future of good in our lives. We didn’t see the God that enters our pain and redeems it for good. We could only see our own grief.
GOD HEARS
Do you currently feel no hope? Your soul lies in a fetal position under the broom tree, begging for the end of the pain. If that is your story dear friend, please know plainly: God hears your cries, feels your pain, and He is sufficient to bring a hope and a future which can totally surpass your imagination, if you only let Him. Take heart. God hears. The sun is rising just around the corner……just wait.
The man who patiently endures the temptations and trials that come to him is the truly happy man. For once his testing is complete he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to all who love him. (James 1:12)
Both Loraine and Job endeavored to endure, but clung by a thread.
Loraine had a wonderful heart for people. If she saw someone being mistreated, she was a tigress, a warrior for Jesus Christ. Thus, it came as quite a shock to hear her cancer diagnosis. The cycle began: surgery, chemo, radiation, and more chemo. Her beautiful red hair fell out and her skin became a patchwork of rashes. Always strong physically, she found herself imprisoned in a sick and broken body. Loraine endured. That final summer of her illness we discussed the question: “What happens, when all that’s left, is God?”
THE BLAME GAME
If you want a happy read, don’t read the Book of Job. He loses his family, wealth, marriage, reputation, and health. Furthermore, his “friends” bombard him with accusations, saying that everything must be Job’s fault. He must be a huge sinner that his life has turned out this way. A misguided friend counseled Loraine that she was not healed because she “didn’t have enough faith.” Like Job’s friends, it put salt on Loraine’s open wounds.
CLINGING BY A THREAD
What happens when everyone seems to have abandoned you; when all that’s left, is God? During the final weeks of life, Loraine found her sight deteriorating because the cancer had spread to her brain. The encroaching darkness was frightening. Bewildered, Job endured an unimaginable prison of pain. Both Loraine and Job endeavored to endure, but clung by a thread.
LOOK UP
In Job 38-41, God finally answers Job out of the storm. He poses a series of questions to Job: “Can you bind the chains of [the cluster of stars called] Pleiades, Or loose the cords of [the constellation] Orion? Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, and guide [the stars of] the Bear with her sons? Do you know the ordinances of the heavens, Or [can you] establish their rule over the earth?” (Job 38:31-33)
God says, “Look up. Remember Who I am.”
GOD IS STILL GOD
In the midst of our worst fears, God is still God. “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge! ‘Be still and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.’ The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress” (Psalm 46).
HE IS ENOUGH
What do you do when everything else is gone, when everything you depend on has flown the coop? How do you endure? Run to the One, “Who is wise enough to count all the clouds. Who can tilt the water jars of heaven when the parched ground is dry and the soil has hardened into clods.” God is enough because of His character. God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.
Lately I have been having a rough time with a back injury. I’m so glad that Jenny wrote this piece:
This made no sense! The Master never makes mistakes, but this is a big one! He suggested we cross the lake. Now, here we are on the verge of sinking. In all my years of fishing, never have I seen a squall of this magnitude. We are taking in water alarmingly faster than we can possibly bail out, yet there he is sleeping! The waves rock violently almost tipping over the boat and yet he sleeps. His soaking wet body rests on a waterlogged cushion, yet he sleeps. We holler at each other just to hear above the howling wind and crashing waves. Yet he sleeps as peacefully as a well-fed baby in his mother’s arms.
OUR LOOMING DEMISE
When the wind first picked up, we realized a squall was coming and prepared for it. Most of us were seasoned fishermen and know what to do when bad weather strikes. But this was different. On the brink of disaster, we have no choice but to wake the Master and make him aware of our looming demise.
HOW COULD HE BE SLEEPING?
We wanted to let him rest, knowing how exhausted he is. Preaching and healing fatigues him at times. But how can a person rest in the middle of a raging storm? Frantically shouting and shaking him awake, we asked, “How can you be sleeping? We are going to drown in this storm! Don’t you care?”
WHERE IS YOUR FAITH?
His eyes blink open and realizing the magnitude of the storm, he stands up and rebukes the wind and the waves. To our astonishment, immediately the wind stopped blowing and the sea turned to glass. Our mouths still agape as he turns toward us and compassionately rebukes us with one question; “Where is your faith?” (As told by one of the Twelve)
NO MISTAKE ON BEING ON THAT BOAT
How often I ponder these events and think of how the wind and waves obeyed the Lord. I understand there was no mistake about being in the boat that day. That storm proves a valuable lesson. We learn that Jesus, the creator of the universe, has all power and authority over nature. In all circumstances we need to stay focused on Christ and not be shaken by what is happening around us. Just as Jesus rested during the storm, we can rest in him and not be overwhelmed by life’s storms. We can aim to rest as peacefully as Jesus did that day on the boat.
HOW TO DEAL WITH YOUR STORMS
Read Mark 4:35-41 and ponder the wonders of Jesus. What storms are you facing? Are you looking at the storm through spiritual eyes or earthly eyes? Do you stay in peace as life’s trials feel like waves crashing over the boat? Picture being on the boat with the disciples. Imagine the placid sea after Jesus’ rebuke. What a blessing to know the Savior who can calm all our storms. The storms are real, but they no longer need to rock us to our core.
Never does God send us out with wishes of, “Good luck; go and do whatever you want.”
Henry Mercer assumed he could be the lord who built his own house. In 1907, this American businessman, and collector decided to construct his castle of concrete. He incorporated his extensive tile collection. A bachelor with no architectural training, he built his castle-home Fonthill, on the fly. Its interior twists up and down, with 10 bathrooms, 18 fireplaces, 21 chimneys, and at least 32 sets of stairs (some of which lead nowhere). Eight laborers, unfamiliar with concrete construction, were hired under Mercer’s constant watch. They poured concrete and built Fonthill Castle in four years. Nothing in the eccentric structure is plumb. Even furniture is made of concrete. It is the odd and uncomfortable product of Mercer’s ill-conceived dream.
DO THEY DREAM OF CREATING THEIR OWN “NEW EGYPT”?
In Exodus 21-23, what is the Israelites’ dream as they leave Egypt for the Promised Land? Do they dream of creating their own “New Egypt;” a land of their own design and making? Little do they comprehend this new land belongs to God. The Israelites and the land are to glorify and reflect God alone.
LESSONS ON HOW TO RESPOND TO GOD
God gives His people lessons on how to respond to a Holy God. He rejects their preconceptions of what His society is to look like, handing them designs, plans and laws. If requested, God always provides His wisdom. He would have even given Henry Mercer sound plans for designing his home. Mercer’s mansion would not have become such a bizarre castle. However, Mercer rejected sound guidelines. The Israelites eventually rejected God’s wisdom.
WHO THEY WERE TO REFLECT
In these chapters, God gives the Israelites many specifics on how to be socially responsible. They are taught to honor God in all aspects of their lives. Never does God send them out of Egypt with wishes of, “Good luck; go and do whatever you want.” As His people, they are to reflect the holiness of God. Things travel sideways each time the Israelites follow their own plans, imagining they are masters of their own destiny.
HEADED TO DEADLY SPIRITUAL WARFARE
The Israelites head toward deadly spiritual warfare. God warns them, “Do not bow down before their gods or worship them or follow their practices. You must demolish them and break their sacred stones to pieces.” God knows bad allegiances “will cause you to sin against Me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you.” He forbids the Israelites to construct spiritual and cultural castles of their own imagination.
In his writings, Mercer imagined he was lord of his own destiny. He plagiarized, “Except the lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.”
GOD’S SPECIAL POSSESSION
God has perfect plans for His children. The designs are not of our own making. But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (Peter 2:9) Have you handed over to Him your plans and dreams? Without them, your life will end up like Mercer’s stairways which lead nowhere.
With each day that passed, it felt like the pressure for a resolution was exponentially increasing. I needed an answer ASAP! Where was God?
Have you ever felt surrounded by trouble? I have. During trying times, I struggle with unbelief that God will come through and meet my needs. When the fear of the unknown hits me like a ton of bricks, it is helpful to remember the ways He has provided for me in other situations.
WHERE WAS GOD?
I remember a particularly difficult season when I was about to lose my job through no fault of my own. I struggled with anger and fear over losing the income and benefits my job provided. I wanted to trust God, but it was not easy. I lived in that desperately uncomfortable space between where I was and where I needed to be. I had zero power to make things change. I needed to rely on God’s ability to provide a way. I knew he could, I just wasn’t sure he would. With each day that passed, it felt like the pressure for a resolution was exponentially increasing. I needed an answer ASAP! Where was God?
SOAP, SOAP AND MORE SOAP!
One morning as I was praying about all these things, God reminded me of a time when we had no money until payday and ran out of bar soap. Frank came home from work that day with a bag of things his dad had gotten from Grandmom’s house. There were SO MANY bars of soap!!! In addition to abundantly meeting our needs, there were SEVERAL bottles of mouthwash (something I love but feel is an extravagance). Soap wasn’t as dire as losing a chunk of income and our health benefits, but it was a personal reminder of the truth of God’s love and ability to meet my needs. No matter how things looked regarding my job, I asked God to help me trust He would provide His best.
Two weeks before my last day at my old job, God moved in a big way. I got a great job offer with my top choice company. So often, we flippantly throw around the exhortation that “God can do anything!” as we wait with expectation for all the possible ways he can do that wonderful, miraculous thing we need or long for. We all want a miracle, yet none of us really wants to be in the place where we need that miracle. No one wants to be unemployed with bills and children to care for. No one wants to get a life altering or life-threatening diagnosis.
REMEMBER WHAT HE HAS DONE
The Bible tells us to remember what He has done. In Deuteronomy 11:19-19, Moses encouraged the Israelites to remember the mighty acts God had done in their past and to trust His power and provision for where He was taking them. No one wants to be between a rock and hard place like the Israelites, hotly pursued by Pharaoh and his army on one side and hemmed in by the Red Sea on the other (Exodus 14:5-29). They thought they were safely out of Egypt when on the horizon appeared their worst enemy. God provided the miracle, and Moses repeatedly reminded them of it.
Maybe you find yourself in a difficult place and are struggling to believe He will meet your needs. Maybe His miracle answer doesn’t feel like one. Your miracle of provision may look different than what you expected. Oh friend, I know that pain as well. Christ’s love and ways are beyond our understanding. I pray that you will call to mind some of the miraculous ways God has provided for you in the past. He can do more than you could ever imagine.
“Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us.” (Ephesians 3:20)
God gave His list of ten commands to humans born genetically fractured with sin. We are unable to rack up complete obedience to just ten rules.
Every day I asked, “How can I do that?” in Mr. Smith’s Chemistry. The Periodic Table of Elements made no sense, just indecipherable formulas. I stayed after school for extra help and discovered I was not born with math and chemistry genes. Give me reading or music and I’m a happy camper, but succeeding at chemistry was like Mr. Smith asking me to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Impossible! It wasn’t going to happen. That’s not the only category in which I come up short. In my spiritual life I am also fractured.
WE CAN’T EVEN OBEY 10 COMMANDS
In Exodus 20:12-17, God gave His list of ten commands to humans born genetically fractured with sin. That’s right. We are genetically wrecked and are unable to rack up complete obedience to just ten rules. However, God is not an ogre rejoicing over our downfall. He understands our dilemma. Consider the ten commandments as an opening introduction to the holiness of God. Adam and Eve, before the Fall, were able to obey all ten. After the Fall, Adam, Eve (and all of us) miserably failed. We are FRACTURED!
Jesus did not make it easier when He broke the Big Ten down to two commands: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others]” (Matthew 22:37-39). That should be simple, right?
GOOD INTENTIONS FAIL
No. Regardless of how good our intentions are, we fail. For example, go to church and that person who rubs you the wrong way seems to magically appear before you in the lobby. Suddenly, all you can think of is the nasty thing they did to you. You are not wishing them peace, joy and love in your heart of hearts. Or what about those days it is a choice between loving God or spending hours of “me” time with you and the TV? Don’t you deserve both “me” time and to think ill of your enemies? Oh, how fractured we are!
GOD’S NEW HEART
There is absolutely no way we can perfectly obey the top two, let alone total ten commands. We fail again and again. God knows how dark and ruptured our hearts and intentions are. That’s why He supplies a new heart to those who become His children. He transfers to us Christ’s perfection once we accept Christ as our only Savior. This is “positional sanctification.”
WE DON’T HAVE TO LIVE FRACTURED LIVES
Sadly, we don’t immediately become perfect in our everyday behavior; those heart behaviors are listed under “progressive sanctification.” This second category of sanctification gives us the power to look at God, the world, and ourselves in an entirely different way. We can experientially live out the life God originally planned for us. We don’t have to live fractured lives.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life] (2 Corinthians 5:17).
What if in high school I was given a new brain from God to comprehend chemistry? Astounded Mr. Smith would suddenly have a student wanting to do all the assignments for chemistry who understood the Table of Periodic Elements. No longer would I come up short.
That is what being born again means. The Holy Spirit regenerates me, gives me a new heart and I can choose to obey both the two major commands, and the top ten. By the Holy Spirit, I obey not because I have to, but because I want to. This is the new nature. And that’s how you do it!!!
My husband and I are opposites. While he happily snores away, without a care in the world, my mind races away.
The thought of Your infinite serenity cheers me, For I am toiling and moiling, troubled and distressed, But You are forever at perfect peace. (“Valley of Vision”)
My husband and I are opposites. While he happily snores away, without a care in the world, my mind races away. In the middle of the night, I try to produce a solution to my latest difficulty. I am a “moiler.”
The word “moiling” means to move around in confusion or agitation, Synonyms are to dig, drudge, grind, labor, toil, and travail. If there is a world record in moiling, I deserve it. I have the moiling gene and am proficient.
I often miss joy in life because I am continually moiling in the background. Type A personality that I am, I list all the things that can go wrong and all the things I can do to prevent them from going wrong. While my mind occupies itself, I pass over the joy and wonder of the moment.
When we lived in Illinois, I worked overtime in the moiling department. Looking back, I know I wanted to glimpse serenity during those years. I could not see it; I was too busy moiling about. Troubles multiplied the longer we lived in the Midwest. Illinois was hard.
Serenity finally began to arrive when I adopted a new habit. I would get up at 5 AM and go for exceedingly long walks on the dark streets of our town, Zion, IL. During those rambles I would finally quiet down long enough for God to get a word in edge wise.
God has a lot to say, however up to that point my listening skills were well below par. I just wanted Him to hear all my anguish, fears and sorrows and to make them go away. Serenity does not come from throwing a tantrum against God, people and circumstances.
Gradually, serenity began to accompany me in the quiet, dark streets of Zion. It was ironic. Every couple blocks I passed police cars. Zion was a small town, yet so crime-ridden that it had its own swat team. The serenity did not come from the presence and protection of police cars. Serenity came from the conversations in which I finally let God speak. He is quite good at speaking when one stops occupying all the airtime.
As I finally surrendered and accepted God’s plan for my life, regardless of how complicated it appeared, I discovered His calm and peace. I began to discover His serenity.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known”(Jeremiah 33:3).
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me”(John 10:27).
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:26).
“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it”(Hebrews 2:1).
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger”(James 1:19).
I agree when people call me: Failure, Weak, Prisoner, Forgotten, Cursed.
Ever had two names? Mom called you Sallie when she gave you a hug, but called you Sarah Marie when you were in trouble? It was even worse if she said, “Sarah Marie” twice. You knew that you were in the doghouse.
JACOB’S 2 NAMES
In Genesis 46:1-4, God calls Jacob two names: “Israel” & “Jacob”. Jacob is not a pleasant name; it means “supplanter”: suggesting someone who is deceitful, cunning, and who attempts to seize something. Jacob stole the birthright and blessings intended for his brother Esau.
Israel means “Prince of God”. Notice, in this passage God says the name Jacob twice in a row. He must be trying to get the supplanter’s attention.
POOR OLD JACOB
Poor Jacob. He discovers that for the past 22 years his sons have deceived him. (Hmmm, wonder where they inherited that trait?) They told Father Jacob that brother Joseph was killed by a wild animal. They never mentioned they sold their flesh and blood into slavery. During all this time Jacob’s heart never heals from the loss of Joseph.
A huge famine comes to Canaan and the brothers are sent to Egypt to buy food. Listen to the brothers as they return home. Astonishingly, they tell Dad, “Joseph is still alive! In fact, he is ruler of all Egypt.”No wonder Jacob was stunned; he did not believe them (Genesis 45:25-26). After all, his sons were also deceivers.
A NEW START
After much discussion, Jacob sets out with his entire family (and yes, that includes all his rascally sons and their offspring) for Egypt. They head for the unknown. However, Jacob sits on an emotional fence at Beersheba, the southernmost town in Canaan. God tells 130-year-old Jacob to make a fresh start with his sons, the deceivers. Elderly Jacob obeys God’s command, but all types of fears pass through his heart. Will Jacob bail?
ISRAEL VERSUS JACOB
Jacob stops to offer sacrifice to God at Beersheba. Remember Jacob’s new name from God? “Israel” has acted in faith by loading the wagon, but “Jacob” is wondering what in the world is going on. And God spoke to Israel in a vision at night and said, “Jacob! Jacob!” “Here I am,” he replied. “I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you. It is only in Egypt that Jacob can become Israel, the prince of God over a multitude of descendants.
FORGETTING MY NEW IDENTITY
Are you mired in the past? In my case, I often act as the old “Jac”. This is all the time when like Jacob, I pull on the old sin nature and perform according to my old character. I forget who I am in Christ. I forget my identity in Christ and agree with people when they call me Failure, Weak, Prisoner, Forgotten, Cursed.
