TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
“I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.” Genesis 31:13
Listen: Genesis 31
TODAY’S MESSAGE
God comes to Jacob and tells him that it’s time for a move. Not just any move but to go back home. Through this move, God is building a relationship with Jacob the same way he did with his grandfather, Abraham. Abraham was to leave his family, but Jacob is returning to his family. It is the same location, and in the same way, their trust in God grows along the way. God uses the trip to refine them.
Jacob doesn’t know what he’ll run into along the journey or when he gets back home. That uncertainty is a part of trusting God. Jacob’s first step is clear, but not the outcome.
Watch the video clip below as Senior Pastor Jeff Manion shares that God often tells us it’s time for a move. Sometimes it’s a physical move or more likely, a move in our heart or attitude.
It can be scary when God asks us to make a move. We may not feel like doing it. But we change in the process when we obey God and move. We grow as we show trust in God without knowing the outcome.
God speaks to Jacob, and he speaks to us. He has given us his Word. We can read it and know how to move to become more patient, more loving or more forgiving. We don’t have to wait for an audible voice because God has already spoken.
IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY
Spend some time considering where you think God might be asking you to move. Are you challenged to be more patient, loving, forgiving, generous, or to serve more? What’s the first step? Write down the first step and put it somewhere you will see and be challenged by it.
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.
