Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a video of steve Greeen… Find Us Faithful, … declaring the trek of all Christians to overcome the disappointments of this world with our faithful following of Christ.
Highlight Passage: Genesis 29: 25 [NKJV] …
25 So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?”
… Jacob’s disappointment was great when Jacob discovered Laban’s deception.
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Highlight Context – Genesis 29: 14-30 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK … … Jacob waits seven years for Rachel to be his wife and her father, Laban, deceives Jacob and gives him Laban’s second daughter, Leah
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Reference Passage #1 - Psalm 37: 4, 34 [NKJV] …
4 Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.
… 34 Wait on the Lord and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land …
… Solomon declares the antidote for disappointment and discouragement … and that is trusting in and waiting on the Lord.
Reference Passage #2 - Proverbs 3: 5-6 [NKJV] …
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. 6 Acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.
… Disappointed? … Discouraged? … God’s prescription … take a big dose of trust and patience in His loving kindness and mercy and come back for another day.
Reference Passage #3 - John 16: 33 [NKJV] …
33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
… Jesus speaks peace to His disciples who were terribly discouraged over what He was telling them the night before His trek to the cross.
Reference Passage #4 - 1st Corinthians 10:13 [NKJV] …
13 No temptation (trial, test, or tribulation) has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, Who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
… God promises to be with the faithful in the midst of any/all discouraging trials.
My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Tim Gustafson, brought a message this morning about a universal given; and that is that our lives will encounter disappointment and discouragement, even as Christians, as we live in this life and prepare for the next. Jesus even promised as much the night before the cross when His disciples were so disappointed and discouraged to hear Him talking about dying the next day [see John 16: 33]. But Jesus tried to lift them up by declaring that He had overcome the world and in that truth, they should have faith; and yes, even peace.
And in today’s ODB entry, Tim Gustafson uses the story of Jacob’s disappointment at the hands of his betrothed, Rachel, whose father, Laban, had promised marriage if Jacob served him in indentured slavery for seven years. And you can read the story in the highlight passage from Genesis 29 above.
After a seven year wait of service to Laban, Rachel’s father deceives Jacob and sends in his #2 daughter, Leah, to lay with Jacob on the wedding night. … BUMMER!!! And even through his disappointment, Jacob agrees to take both daughters as his wife; and we know from history that our Lord, Jesus, came from the line of Leah. So, Jacob’s willingness to trust God and deal with his initial disappointment, … his faithfulness in God, as Steve Green sings in the song linked above, … ultimately yielded the Savior of mankind.
We all are going to face disappointments and discouragements, aren’t we? The question is not WILL WE, but rather WHAT WILL BE our response. I’m praying today that when I face the challenges of life, maybe even today, I will do so trusting that my God will lead me through it, as both Proverbs 3: 5-6 and 1st Cor. 10: 13 promise. So, … will we trust God and be patient to let Him guide us through the challenges?
My Prayer Today: Oh, dear Lord, … As I face today, be with me, guide me, and lead me through any disappointments or discouragement I may face. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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