Tag Archives: God’s will

Taking the Long Way to the Promised Land – Genesis 46:3-4

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promisedland“I am God, the God of your father, the voice said. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make your family into a great nation. I will go with you down to Egypt, and I will bring you back again” (Genesis 46:3-4, NLT).

Due to a great famine in the land and at the behest of Pharoah and the prime minister of Egypt, Jacob’s son, Joseph, Jacob (Israel) and all his family, which included his eleven sons and their wives and children, moved from Canaan to Egypt.

Their first stop on their journey was at Beersheba, so named 200 years earlier by Jacob’s grandfather, Abraham, who lived in the area for a long time (vs. 21:34). In a night vision God reaffirmed His covenant with Jacob, but in a peculiar way. God promised He would make Israel a great nation in Egypt and then bring them out of Egypt to live once again in the land of Canaan. So, they went to Egypt as a tribe of seventy people (vs. 27) and left Egypt as a nation of quite possibly more than two million people (see Exodus 12:37, 38:26, six hundred thousand men, not counting women and children)!

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For Such a Time as This – Esther 4:14

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world_in_hands“And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14, ESV).

The story of Esther is set in Susa, the Persian capital, during the reign of King Xerxes (486–464 BC) after Persia had replaced Babylon as the ruling power.

Some Jews had returned to Jerusalem where they enjoyed a reasonable amount of control over their own affairs as described in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. Others, like those in the story of Esther, lived in various parts of the empire where they were often treated with suspicion and recriminations.

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Updating Your To-Do List – Haggai 1:5

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todolist2“Now, the Lord of hosts says this: ‘Think carefully about your ways'”  (Haggai 1:5, HCSB).

The work of rebuilding the Temple had ceased for about ten years by order of King Artaxerxes of Persia (Ezra 4:24). Near the end of this ten-year cessation period, Haggai the prophet received a message from God to incite the repatriated Jews to complete the rebuilding of the Temple.

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Assured Success – 2 Chronicles 26:5

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Success“Uzziah sought God during the days of Zechariah, who taught him to fear God. And as long as the king sought guidance from the Lord, God gave him success” (2 Chronicles 26:5, NLT).

Uzziah became king of Judah at sixteen years of age. Though a young king, Uzziah was faithful to God: “He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his father, Amaziah, had done” (vs. 4).

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God’s Outbursts – I Chronicles 15:13

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outburst“Because you Levites did not carry the Ark the first time, the anger of the Lord our God burst out against us. We failed to ask God how to move it properly.” (I Chronicles 15:13, NLT).

An interesting evolution in King David’s faith in God takes place in in Chapters 13-15 of 1 Chronicles. At each stage in the development of David’s faith over the course of these three chapters the same Hebrew word is used to show the mighty or forceful activity of God–God’s outburst–in shaping David’s faith.

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It’s A God Thing – Jeremiah 32:8

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seeking-god“Then my cousin Hanamel came to the guard’s courtyard as the Lord had said and urged me, ‘Please buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for you own the right of inheritance and redemption. Buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.” (Jeremiah 32:8, HCSB).

Jeremiah was in prison because he had proclaimed to King Zedekiah and the people of Jerusalem that the Babylonians were going to conquer Jerusalem.

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Go Back To Go Forward – 1 Kings 19:15

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“undo-iconThen the Lord told him, Go back the same way you came…” (1 Kings 19:15, NLT)

Sometimes we can lose focus on how God is working even though He has done many extraordinary things in our lives.

The prophet Elijah seemed to lose his focus when Queen Jezebel threatened to kill him. Elijah was in such fear for his life that he fled to the wilderness even though he had just called fire down from heaven and called on God for rain that ended a three-year drought in Israel (vs. 18:39, 43-44).

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Life or Death? – Jeremiah 21:8-10

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life-or-death“This is what the Lord says: Look, I am presenting to you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live and will retain his life like the spoils of war. For I have turned against this city to bring disaster and not good—this is the Lord’s declaration. It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, who will burn it down” (Jeremiah 21:8-10, HCSB).

King Zedekiah of Judah was depending on Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt to defeat Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent one of his officials, Pashhur, and the priest, Zephaniah, to the prophet, Jeremiah, to ask him to foretell what the outcome of the Zedekiah’s rebellion against Babylon would be.

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Salvation Workout – Philippians 2:12-13

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workout“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure”  (Philippians 2:12-13, ESV).

The Apostle Paul is not suggesting the the Philippians should try to earn their salvation by doing good works.

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