Read through the Bible in 2 years: Job 15; Psalm 35
I hope you’re reading the Psalms along with Job. They’re so beautiful to read together.
“How long, O Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their destruction, my precious life from the lions!
I will thank you in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise you.”
Psalm 35:17-18 ESV
“They open wide their mouths against me; they say, ‘Aha, Aha! Our eyes have seen it!’
You have seen, O LORD; be not silent! O Lord, be not far from me!”
Psalm 35:21-22 ESV
“Vindicate me, O LORD, my God, according to your righteousness, and let them not rejoice over me!”
Psalm 35:24 ESV
“Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, ‘Great is the LORD, who delights in the welfare of his servant!’
Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long.”
Psalm 35:27-28 ESV
Sisters, when we find ourselves in a pit of despair, we must speak truth to our hearts. God has given us His Word to guide us, enlightening our path that we might not sin against Him. (Psalm 119:5, 105, 11) His Word is truth. His truth sanctifies us. (John 17:17)
“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 ESV)
“It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” (Deuteronomy 31:8 ESV)
“And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.” (Psalm 9:10 ESV)
In Christ, we are the recipient of God’s grace, hidden behind the cross where Jesus absorbed the Father’s wrath that we so deeply deserved. Jesus took the Father’s scorn in our place. Jesus paid the death price, so we don’t have to. Let’s encourage one another with these words and pray to the Father together. Will you join me in praying?
Heavenly Father,
You are worthy of our full trust. Thank You for the sacrifice of Christ who has paid the price for my sin so that I don’t have to. My debt has been paid in full by my Savior, Christ Jesus, my Lord.
Thank You for Your faithful, steadfast love. I can trust without doubting that You will never leave me or forsake me. You are true, though every man be a liar. My own parents might even abandon me, turn away from me in shame, forsake me, but You never will.
In Jesus, You have made me Your child and put Your seal upon me, filling me with Your Holy Spirit, making me Your temple. What purpose and hope and peace there is in that!
In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen.
Would you like to receive my daily blog posts sent directly to your email? Subscribe for free by entering your email below.
Read Through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 25, Genesis 49-50
His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.”
But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.”
Joseph understood that his life was not his own. He recognized that his life was too be lived in service to his fellow man and his God. Whether refusing the advanced of his boss’s wife, interpreting dreams, obeying his father, or providing for the needs of the Egyptians or the brothers who has sold him into slavery, his life was lived as an offering back to God. Can we say the same?
Is your body “a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God”? (Romans 12:2 ESV)
Do you see your body as a temple of the Holy Spirit, whom you have received from God, such that “you are not your own,” … that you will live to “glorify God in your body”? (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ESV)
If your answer is “no,” let me make two simple, but not simple, suggestions:
You can’t live what you don’t believe. If you don’t believe God’s Word … if you don’t believe that Jesus is the perfect, sinless God-man, the spotless Lamb who died for your sins and was raised to life again … if you don’t believe that God is good and all-knowing and all-powerful over all things, then you won’t be able to trust God enough to surrender your life to Him. Start there. Start by simply reading His Word each day, while asking Him to help you in your unbelief.
You can’t give what you don’t have. If you don’t belong to God, if you’re not filled with His Holy Spirit, then you simply don’t have the power to live for Him. Surrender your life now to God. Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn away from your sins and follow Him with an obedient spirit. Ask Him to change you from the inside out and fill you with His Spirit.
Please pray with me.
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for Your mercy. Thank You for Your forgiveness. Thank You for coming after me while I was lost in my own sins. Thank You for giving us the book of Genesis, that we can know how the world began, but also that we can know the true stories of ordinary men and women like Abraham and Sarah and Joseph who possessed extraordinary faith.
Help us to trust You more, to believe that nothing is too hard for You, that You have good plans for us and that You have a purpose for our lives. Make us pure and holy vessels of Your Spirit. Make us living offerings for Your glory. We love You. We trust You. Help us to love You more and trust You more, for You are worthy.
In the name of Jesus Christ who is our Savior and our Lord we pray. Amen.
Would you like to receive my daily blog posts sent directly to your email? Subscribe for free by entering your email below.
Click here for more information about my Read Through the Bible in Two Years plan.
If you would like prayer, please leave a comment below or send me a message. I’m happy to pray for you.
Please like and share.
“I am Not my Own” Keith + Kristen Getty, Skye Peterson
Read Through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 24, Genesis 47-48
Have you ever found yourself running in this rat’s race of life, pursuing some pie in the sky goal, but unable to reach it no matter how hard you try? Or maybe you have succeeded in reaching the goals you’ve set for yourself – you’ve gotten accepted into that college, graduated as valedictorian, married the guy, had the babies, won the praises of man – and yet you still find your life empty?
Like the song “Never Enough” from the 2017 blockbuster hit, “The Greatest Showman,” no matter what the world has to offer you, it’s never enough.
All the shine of a thousand spotlights All the stars we steal from the night sky Will never be enough Never be enough Towers of gold are still too little These hands could hold the world but it’ll Never be enough Never be enough
Friends, let me assure you, whatever this world has to offer, it’s never enough. Never.
Eve thought, “If only I could eat the fruit of that tree…”
Lot’s wife thought, “If only I could go back home…”
Sarah thought, “If only I could have a son…”
Rebekah thought, “If only my son Jacob would receive his father’s blessing…”
Leah thought, “If only Jacob loved me…”
Rachel thought, “If only I had a son…”
In the final verse of Genesis 45, Jacob receives word that his favorite son, Joseph, whom he thought had been killed by wild animals, is still alive. Jacob says,
It is enough; Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.
Genesis 45:28
Then, when Jacob was finally reunited with this dearly loved son, he said, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.” (Genesis 46:30) And then God graciously gives Jacob another 17 years of life after seeing his son – time enough to know not only Joseph but also Joseph’s two sons who were born during Joseph’s years in Egypt.
Now, at the end of his life, Jacob asks Joseph to bring near his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, saying, “I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.” (Genesis 48:11)
And suddenly my mind started thinking, “Lord, when will it be enough for me? When I have that next thing, that next relationship, that next opportunity? When I finally quit doing that thing that I hate? When my husband finally does the next thing? When my child does that most important thing? When will it be enough?”
And then I was reminded of Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.
Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
We learn of God’s grace as we are humbled. Surely these afflictions are for our good. It is good to recognize that nothing on earth will ever be enough. Treasures on earth – whether monetary or relational – will never satisfy. Our lives are better because of the thorns that the Lord has in His mercy given us.
Remember, faith grows when it is stretched.
Let’s pray together.
Heavenly Father,
You alone are worthy. You are enough. You alone satisfy. In Your presence there is fullness of joy. At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Your face, Lord, is what I seek.
In this world, You have promised that I will have troubles, but Lord You have also promised that I can take heart before You have overcome the world.
If I have every trapping of this world – all the knowledge and wisdom, all the fame and power and praise of man, all the riches, all the relationships – it will never be enough. Let me not seek after these worldly things that can never satisfy.
Let me boast only in You – that I know You, that You are the Lord, my Lord, who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. This is what You delight in, so make these my delight, too.
You are a good shepherd and You are my shepherd. I have everything I need. You are enough.
Your grace is enough for me. You are more than enough for me.
In the Name of Jesus I pray. Amen.
Psalm 16:11; Psalm 27:8; John 16:33; Jeremiah 9:23-24; Psalm 23
Click here for more information about my Read Through the Bible in Two Years plan.
Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 23, Genesis 45-46
So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near.
And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”
Genesis 45:4-8 ESV
I have a quick, simple question for y’all. Have you ever been sold into slavery by your brothers? No? Me neither.
Have you ever been hurt by anyone in your life? Yes? Me, too.
When someone hurts you, it can be hard (impossible?) to forgive them. Sometimes it feels like you simply can’t “let them off the hook” by forgiving them. We take on the role of punisher, paying them back for what they’ve done to us.
But let’s think carefully about Joseph’s words here. What if we saw God’s hand at work even in our pain? How would our desire to punish someone who hurt us change if we truly believed that God was working even this pain to bring good? Wouldn’t that make forgiveness a whole lot easier?
The truth is that God is always at work, accomplishing the best ends through the best means for the most people. Sometimes people get hurt during that … And sometimes those people include YOU and ME and OUR loved ones.
Will you pray with me?
Heavenly Father,
I trust You. I trust Your heart. I trust Your mercy and kindness and grace and power. You have proven Yourself to be good and faithful – in Your Word and in my life. But, Father, sometimes things look really bad to me. In fact, sometimes things really are bad. It’s wrong to sell your brother into slavery. That is wrong. Yet, Lord, you worked through that unthinkable tragedy to bring great good for a great number of people with fruit still being born even today.
I pray that I would trust You with all my heart, soul, and mind. Help me to remember Your steadfast faithfulness to Joseph, and me, now and forever.
In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen
Would you like to receive my daily blog posts sent directly to your email? Subscribe for free by entering your email below.
Would you like more information about my Read Through the Bible in Two Years plan? Click here.
If you would like prayer, please leave a comment below or send me a message. I’m happy to pray for you.
Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 22, Genesis 42-44
Genesis 42 kicks off with the famine having spread to the land of Canaan, thereby forcing Jacob to send his sons to Egypt to buy grain. Jacob sends ten of his remaining sons, but refuses to send Joseph’s younger brother, Benjamin, the only other son of Rachel, “for he feared that harm might happen to him.” (Genesis 42:4) Jacob is still playing favorites, like I wrote about here.
As though that’s not bad enough, even after Simeon (Jacob’s second son from his unloved wife, Leah) is left behind in Egypt, Jacob continues to insist that Benjamin cannot go to Egypt, saying, “My son shall not go down with you [Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn son], for his brother [Joseph] is dead, and he is the only one left.” (Genesis 42:38) In fact, Jacob still has eight other sons in addition to Reuben left at home, namely Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, and Zebulun.
How would you feel if you heard your father say such a thing about one of your brothers?
Wouldn’t you want to scream and cry and stomp your feet, “Hey, Dad, what about me? Don’t you love me? Aren’t I your son? What about me and my children? What if we starve here from this famine?”
When the famine becomes even more severe and all the Egyptian grain has been consumed, Jacob is finally willing to send his sons again to Egypt to buy food. (Keep in mind, Simeon had been left in Egypt as a captive all this time.)
Judah, Jacob’s fourth son who was also born to Leah, solemnly pledges to his father, “From my hand you shall require him [Benjamin]. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.” (Genesis 43:9 ESV)
To which Jacob finally relents, “May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, and may he send back your other brother and Benjamin. As for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.” (Genesis 43:14)
Now, put yourself in the shoes of Judah, or one of Leah’s other sons or worse yet one of the sons of Rachel’s servant Bilhah or Leah’s servant Zilpah. Imagine hearing your father refer to Simeon, your big brother as “your other brother” while Rachel’s son is referred to by name. Benjamin, Jacob’s last son. Benjamin, the only remaining son of Rachel, Jacob’s dearly loved wife who died during his birth. Benjamin, the “son of my right hand.”
Whether spoken intentionally or not, Jacob’s words communicated to his children that Benjamin is more valuable than they are. Read Judah’s own words to Joseph about his dad at the end of Genesis 44.
“As soon as he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die … Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a servant to my lord, and let the boy go back with his brothers. For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the evil that would find my father.”
Genesis 44:31a, 33-34 ESV
In spite of the pain that his father has caused him, Judah still loves his dad. He may not be expecting a prodigal son’s welcome home — no father running to him with arms open wide. Rather, he is expecting to arrive home to a father who is looking behind him to see if his baby brother is there. And yet … Judah is still worried about the deep pain that his brother’s loss will cause his father.
Are you having a hard time loving someone who has hurt you again and again? Are you struggling to forgive someone who has repeatedly broken your heart?
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father,
How I long to see you face to face, to sit at your feet and have every tear wiped away from my eyes! How I ache for the pain and sin and sorrow of this world to be over!
But, Father, in the meantime, help me to love as Your Son loved. Remind me how much You have forgiven me. Show me my sin.
Help me to forgive even those who forget me and reject me and spit in my face. I want to forgive others as You have forgiven me.
Lord, I can’t do this on my own. I need Your strength. Help me to see the log in my own eye, to accept responsibility for where my own sin has contributed to the pain that I find myself in.
I want to overcome evil with good, for You are good and I am Yours.
In the Good and Gracious name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
Would you like to receive my daily blog posts sent directly to your email? Subscribe for free by entering your email below.
Would you like more information about my Read Through the Bible in Two Years plan? Click here.
If you would like prayer, please leave a comment below or send me a message. I’m happy to pray for you.
Read through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 20, Genesis 38-39
I found it especially interesting to read Genesis 38 and 39 together. Genesis 38 tells the story of Judah, who got his widowed daughter-in-law pregnant, while Genesis 39 tells the story of Judah’s younger brother, Joseph, who successfully resisted Potiphar’s wife in spite of her incredible persistence.
Genesis 38 – Sexual Sin and Human Pride
I mainly want to focus on Genesis 39 today, but before we get there I do want to point out two things in Genesis 38.
About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.”
And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.”
– Genesis 38:24 ESV
Judah is the father of this child. Judah is the reason that Tamar is pregnant. Yet Judah is who demands that she be burned. 🥺😭
How quick we are to point out the sin in other people when we are guilty of that very same sin! How prone we are to hate lying and pride and sin in other people, while overlooking it in ourselves!
Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
Matthew 7:3 ESV
This is part of loving your neighbor as yourself. Somehow we all manage to forgive our own lying and deceit and sexual sin and pride. We make excuses for our own misbehavior, yet we are quick to point fingers at others. May it never be.
I pray that we desire repentance in ourselves as much as we desire it in our neighbor. May we be merciful as we have been shown mercy. May we not think that we are somehow better than someone else, when we are both eating pig slop.
As a dear Christian sister often reminds me, “We are all just beggars looking for somewhere to buy bread.”
The second thing that jumps out at me from Genesis 38 is that Perez, one of the twin sons who was conceived in Tamar through this act of sexual immorality, is the child that God chose to be in the line of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 1:3)
God uses all things, sometimes even sinful things, to accomplish His purposes. Does that mean we should continue in sin? May it never be. But does it mean that none of us are beyond hope and that God is able to use even our sinful past to bring Him glory? Yes. Yes, it does.
I have deep regrets over many things I did in the first 25 years of my life – maybe you do, too – yet those things shaped who I am today. I pray my brokenness would be holes for God’s glory to shine out of.
Genesis 29 – Handsome Joseph and Potiphar’s Persistent Wife
Let’s look next at Genesis 29, a completely different reaction to sexual temptation.
Potiphar’s wife, a woman of authority, the wife of his boss, aggressively pursues Joseph – a very different situation than the one Judah was in – and yet Joseph remains steadfast, refusing to even “listen to her.” (Genesis 39:10)
The scriptures are full of encouragement to FLEE from temptation and sin. We must actively train ourselves (and our children) to RUN from temptation.
May we not be like Lot’s wife who kept looking back as she was being forced to flee Sodom. May we not be like the Israelites who thought fondly about their years in Egyptian bondage. Instead, let’s be women who flee from temptation with our eyes fixed firmly on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.”
Psalm 119:9 ESV
“For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it. And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed, and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof!” Proverbs 5:3-12 ESV
“So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.”
2 Timothy 2:22 ESV
“The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:13b-20 ESV
Will you join me in prayer?
Heavenly Father,
Thank you for Your mercy and grace and forgiveness. I don’t deserve it. I have been Tamar, and I have been Potiphar’s wife. Like 1 Corinthians 6:11 says, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
Such was I, Lord! But, Lord, You have washed me clean in the blood of Jesus. You have given me new desires and new power by Your Spirit at work in me. Praise Your name!
I pray that You would protect my husband and sons. Please, Father, help them to keep their hearts and minds pure. Help them to “think about what they’re thinking about” and to “pay attention to what has their attention.” Show them the way of escape when they are tempted, and give them the wisdom, strength, and desire to flee.
Please protect me and my sisters – and our daughters – from the temptation to be temptresses. Make us honorable women. May we be found faithful, to You and to our husbands. Create in us clean hands and pure hearts, O LORD. Remind us daily that true fulfillment and satisfaction is found only at the feet of Jesus, that we would not seek it elsewhere.
You are worthy. You alone are worthy. Thank you, Jesus!
In the matchless name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Click here for more information about our “Read Through the Bible in Two Years” plan.
When I Think About the Lord
When I think about the Lord How He saved, how He raised me How He filled me with the Holy Ghost He healed me to the uttermost When I think about the Lord How He picked me up Turned me around How He set my feet On solid ground
That makes me want to shout Hallelujah, thank You, Jesus Lord, You’re worthy Of all the glory, and all the honor And all the praise Oh, makes me want to shout Hallelujah, thank You, Jesus Lord, You’re worthy Of all the glory, and all the honor And all the praise
In today’s reading, I kept thinking about how sometimes people will read a passage of the Bible and then take that to mean that it is the right way to behave. “Abraham lied, so it must be okay for us.” “Jacob had two wives, so that must be okay.”
When we’re trying to understand the meaning of a passage, we have to consider all of the scriptures from beginning to end. In this story about the defiling of Dinah, I don’t think that God is saying that Jacob should have passively stood by while Dinah was taken advantage of, or that his sons should have lied to Shechem and Hamor, or that Simeon and Levi should have killed all of the males of their city. In fact, Jacob addressed his sons’ sinful anger in his blessings over his sons, as recorded in Genesis 49.
“Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords. Let my soul come not into their council; O my glory, be not joined to their company. For in their anger they killed men, and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.” Genesis 49:5-7 ESV
Additionally, the Bible specifically tells us,
See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
1 Thessalonians 5:15 ESV
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Romans 12:19 ESV
My heart was grieved reading the whole myriad of sins recorded in these two chapters, but the Bible records the good, the bad, and the ugly, as an example for us. May we learn from these truths, both in what to do and what not to do.
Let’s pray.
HeavenlyFather, we are surrounded by a culture that glorifies wicked, evil, selfish people. Let us be imitators of Christ and not imitators of the world. Father, help us to overcome evil with good. May we look more like Jesus and less like the world.
Help us to trust that You are a just God who is faithful to carry out the proper justice at the proper time. May we not envy the evil, but recognize that they are suffering for their sin – now in their heartsand someday in eternity.
Let us not be surprised at the terrible trials that we are facing in this dark world. May none of suffer as a murderer or thief or evildoer. Rather, may we suffer for the gospel, for righteousness and holiness.
To the glory and praise of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen
Would you like more information about my Read Through the Bible in Two Years plan? Click here.
Read Through the Bible in 2 years: Psalm 17; Genesis 33
But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.
Genesis 33:4 ESV
Twenty years earlier Jacob had fled for his life after lying to his father and cheating his brother Esau out of his father’s final blessing. Jacob was terrified to go back and see Esau again. He expected Esau to kill him, his wives, and his children. At a minimum, we would expect Esau to at least give Jacob a severe tongue lashing, right?
Esau running to embrace Jacob is certainly not what anyone would expect. Forgiveness and reconciliation are rare commodities in human relationships, even between brothers.
Esau’s actions reminded me of the father in the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15.
“How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father.
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.”
– Luke 15:17-24 ESV
I’m reading about Esau, but all I can think about is God’s overwhelming, never-ending, faithful love. He loved me while I was yet His enemy. Truly He loved me first. I am able to love Him ONLY because He first loved me!
I confess that I don’t really understand how all this works, but I do know that it all begins and ends with our loving Father. He pursues us. He lavishes His mercy on us, and His mercy draws us to repentance.
Esau’s ability to forgive his selfish, lying, deceiving brother, takes an act of God.
Has someone hurt you? Are you struggling to forgive them? You need God to act. And He CAN! He can do it. Dear sisters, God is able to do it through us! What is impossible for man is possible for God! God can give us the strength and humility to forgive others who have hurt us.
And, let’s not forget, He commands it of us. We must forgive others because we have been forgiven of SO MUCH!
Which reminds me of another parable that Jesus told. This time in Matthew 18.
“Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”
Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’
So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.
Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’
And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
-Matthew 18:21-35 ESV
Let’s pray together.
Heavenly Father,
Please give us the strength and humility we need to forgive others. Help us to say what our Lord Jesus Christ taught us to say, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Remind us of Christ’s own words as He was being crucified, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Help us to lovingly pursue others while they are sinners, like Jesus pursued us. Help us to overcome evil with good rather than repaying wrong with wrong. Please, Father, make us more like Jesus who was willing to suffer, in order that we could be forgiven and redeemed.
Help us to love others like you have loved us.
By the power of the Holy Spirit and the lavish, overwhelming grace of Christ, we pray this, Amen.
Would you like to receive my daily blog posts sent directly to your email? Subscribe for free by entering your email below.
Would you like more information about my Read Through the Bible in Two Years plan? Click here.
If you would like prayer, please leave a comment below or send me a message. I’m happy to pray for you.
Read through the Bible in 2 Years: Psalm 15, Genesis 29-30
“When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, ‘Because the LORD has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.’
She conceived again and bore a son, and said, ‘Because the LORD has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.’ And she called his name Simeon.
Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, ‘Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.’ Therefore his name was called Levi.
And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, ‘This time I will praise the LORD.’ Therefore she called his name Judah.
Then she ceased bearing.”
– Genesis 29:31-35
Leah viewed her first three sons as tools to get her husband to love her.
Son #1: Now my husband will love me.
Son #2: The Lord has heard that I am hated.
Son #3: Now my husband will be attached to me.
Yet, it’s Leah’s fourth son, Judah, the son whose name means praise, the son whose birth brought Leah to say, “THIS TIME I WILL PRAISE THE LORD,” whom God chose to father the line of Jesus Christ, God’s only Begotten Son and the Savior of the World,
Friends, think about this: it wasLeah, the unloved wife, whom God chose to bear Judah.
I remember my own time of marital pains and infertility. Reading this story about Leah is such an encouragement to me.
God has purpose both in our fertility and in our barrenness. May we bring Him glory in both!
Are you feeling unloved today? I’ve been there. But so has Jesus. He knows how it feels to be rejected by those who were supposed to love Him. And Jesus, the Great I Am, loves you. He is worth a thousand times more than the most perfect husband or a thousand imperfect sons.
Let me pray over you.
Heavenly Father,
You are close to the broken-hearted. You are the God who remains faithful when man is faithless. You love the unloved and the unloveable, the poor, the lonely, the rejected.
You are the good shepherd who pursues His lost sheep.
I pray that we would praise You when life is easy, and we would praise You when life is hard. No matter what, You are worthy of our praise!
We offer our hearts, minds, wombs, and lives to You. Father, fill them as You will in Your perfect timing and for Your perfect purposes. Help us to trust You with our hearts and our hurts.
In the name of Jesus our Savior and King we pray, Amen.
Click here for more information on reading through the Bible in Two Years.
I’ve always liked the name Rebekah, so I was extra disappointed when I read her story in Genesis 27 and 28. Reflecting the meaning of her name, Rebekah is an ensnarer. She wants what she wants, and she is willing to do whatever it takes to get it. Jacob, her quieter son, the one who “dwells in the tents,” is her favorite. (Genesis 25:27-28) She deceives her own husband – and orders her son to do likewise – so that he will get his father’s blessing.
Adam foolishly listened to his wife, Eve. Abraham foolishly listened to his wife, Sarah. Now, the son foolishly listened to his mother’s voice.
But we can’t place all of the blame on Rebekah. Jacob chose to lie to his father saying, “I am Esau, your firstborn” and “the Lord your God granted me success.” (Genesis 27:19-20) Did you notice that Jacob said, “the Lord your God” not “the Lord my God”?
Jacob himself even went so far as to insist a third time. After his dad questioned him again, “Are you really my son Esau?”, Jacob answered, “I am.” (Genesis 27:24 ESV) Ouch.
When Rebekah finds out that Esau is so angry that he wants to kill Jacob, she doesn’t go to Esau herself and admit her wrong and seek to help reconcile her sons. Nor does she go beg her husband’s forgiveness and ask for his help. Instead, she calls Jacob to her again, telling him to obey her and flee to her brother, Laban and even gets Isaac in on her scheme to send Jacob away.
Sin begets more sin. Once you open up the smallest pinprick of a stream of deceit, it’s hard to stop the water from flowing.
But, do you know what really blows me away after reading all of this?
God STILL blesses Jacob.
God. Still. Blesses. JACOB.
Why is God so merciful and faithful?
Why doesn’t He take the blessing away from Jacob and give it to Esau?
Dear friends, if we truly believed that God is as good and faithful and sovereign as we say we do, then why are we willing to go to such great lengths to make our lives go the way that “seems right to us”?
God had already promised Rebekah that the older shall serve the younger, yet she still deceived her husband and made her son do likewise, in order to “make it happen.”
Maybe God hasn’t given us such specific promises for our children, but God has promised us SO much! He has promised to never leave us or forsake us. He has promised to always be with us. He has promised to take care of us. Check out some of my recent blog posts like this and this for more encouragement.
Sisters, let’s not be ensnarers – or deceivers. Instead, may we “do good” and “not fear anything that is frightening” like we’re told in 1 Peter 3:6. Let’s be women who trust God with our lives and the lives of our children.
There is a way that seems right to a man, but it’s end is the way to death.
Proverbs 14:12
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father,
I pray that we would be women who trust You SO MUCH that we would not feel the need to take matters into our own hands. May we rightly fear You, Lord, that we would not dare to sin against You. May we trust that You are able to do more than we could even ask or imagine. May we trust that You are indeed for us, so we need fear no man or life circumstance.
Make us women of the Word. Make us women of faith. Make us women whose children can rise up and praise because we have faithfully trained them up in the fear of the Lord.
We love You, Lord. You are faithful even when we are faithless. Grow our faith, Father.
In the Mighty Name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.
Click here for more information on reading through the Bible in Two Years.
Teach What is Good 
You must be logged in to post a comment.