God with us…
September 6, 2009 — arynIn my personal walk with the Lord I have always found comfort in verses that teach that God is with us and he provides for us like:
Jeremiah 29:11 – “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.”
John 10: 27-29 – “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of my Father’s hand.”
I found it interesting in the beginning of Jacob’s walk with the Lord he does not seem to think that God will be with him always. In Genesis 32 Jacob even wrestles with God to receive his blessing. In Jacob’s dream in Genesis 28, Jacob hears God say in verse 15, “I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Why does it not just end with I will not leave you? Then Jacob follows in verses 20-21 by saying, “If God will be with me, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear…then the Lord shall be my God.” This language seems to be conditional and appears that Jacob does not trust that God will be with him and will fulfill his promise. Throughout the remainder of Genesis we see God’s provision for Jacob and his family, particularly in the story of Joseph and how God blesses him to provide for the people of Israel during the seven years of famine. I was happy to see that by the end of Jacob’s life his language towards God had changed a bit. In Genesis 48:15 Jacob blesses Joseph by saying, “The God before whom my ancestors Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day.”
I personally am thankful that we have the story of Jacob and we are able to see God’s provision for the people of Israel so that we me know that God is with us.
