Because God Loves Me, I Refuse to Live Rejected!Shembull

What is bothering you?

Child of God, are you facing circumstances that question God’s care for you?

Even as I write this Bible plan, thoughts of an impending family move knock at my mind’s door. Questions, such as when and where fill my thoughts. The questions grow until I consider the Who of our situation. My family has moved various times over the years and every time God has steadfastly guided and provided for us.

Knowing my family’s relocation is a matter of choice, I realize we have many options. However, this was not the case several thousand years ago for Jacob, a grandson of Abraham. The when, where, and why of Jacob’s relocation rival the drama of today’s reality shows.

Background.

After Jacob had tricked his father, Isaac, into blessing him, Jacob fled to his uncle Laban’s home for safety from his furious older brother and to find a wife among Laban’s two daughters. He fell in love with one and agreed to work for Laban for 7 years to marry her.

Seven years passed, and Jacob married Laban’s daughter. To Jacob’s dismay, he discovered he had married Leah, the older daughter, instead of Rachel, the younger daughter he loved. Furious, in Genesis 29:25 Jacob exclaimed, “...I worked seven years for Rachel! Why have you tricked me?” (The New Living Translation).

Reflections.

Perhaps you can empathize with the rejection Leah encountered. You may even imagine the words that accused her alone and in the presence of Laban, Jacob, Rachel, and others.

In your own troubling circumstances, you may have heard venomous words designed to steal, kill, and destroy your confidence in God, yourself, and your purpose.

Whether spoken by yourself or others, words matter.

Affirmations.

Words are like containers. Words can carry good or bad things (consider Proverbs 18:21). Child of God, your Father desires the best for you.

To defeat words of rejection spoken to you, please receive the following words of life, love, and acceptance from your Father in Jeremiah 31:3: “…I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness” (The New International Version).

Child of God, you are chosen! You are the object of God’s delight. God’s love for you is personal, unconditional, and steadfast.