Hi, friends! Congratulations on finishing another week and happy Sunday! This week I have been reading through Genesis, and I read Genesis 23-30. I am so excited that I am officially over halfway through Genesis! It has been such a blessing reading through this book, as God has shown me so many lessons. This week I want to share the following insights that I have learned this week, and I hope they encourage you and give you some motivation for the coming week!
Pray often, and don't forget to give a prayer of thanks
Throughout Genesis, we see our main characters stopping periodically on their journey and praying to God for guidance. They pray with purpose, and they pray often. This is also how we should pray. When Abraham or Jacob prayed to God, they literally marked the spot. It was a big deal to them, as it should be to us. It is so amazing that the God of the universe listens to us and WANTS us to talk to Him! He will help us if we ask, so we need to pray often. We also can't forget to thank him for all He does, because let's be real, He does a lot. It is really easy to just pray when we need stuff (I am super guilty of this), but it is important that we stop to give a prayer of thanks as well. In Genesis 24: 26 Abraham's servant who has been sent on a mission to get Isaac a wife, stops and worships the Lord and thanks him for not withholding his kindness and leading him on his journey. This is so important for us as well because we need to be stopped sometimes to take the time to realize the things we have to be grateful for. We have so much to praise Him for.
We literally can't mess up God's plan and His grace for us
I don't know about you, but this just felt like a weight lifted off my shoulders. God has a plan that He will see carried out, and it is not up to us to make it work. So many times we feel like we have to be perfect or circumstances have to be perfect in order for God's plan to be carried out because we totally are the ones running the show and making it happen. ....Right? No, God is the one in charge, and we do NOT have to be perfect for Him! He knows that we are not, and that is completely okay! We cannot mess anything up because God orchestrates everything for His good. Jacob was a trickster and a manipulator in order to get what he wanted, yet God was still faithful to him. God showed him grace through his mistakes, and He will do the same for us. No matter what we do, God has even more grace than we could ever imagine waiting for us, and He will work everything for His good and His plan. In the devotional of the Bible it says, "He doesn't leave us alone in our sin, but instead comes down to wrestle with us". We can never scare Him away nor can we mess anything up. I don't know about you, but that just takes so much unneeded pressure I was putting on myself away.
Our worth is not defined by the world's standards
Can we just say this a little louder for the people in the back?? YOU ARE SO WORTHY. YOU ARE SO LOVED. YOU ARE SO CHERISHED. This is something that I have struggled with for years, and still struggle with today. How can I ever measure up? How can I ever be good enough when all around me I see pictures of beautiful women with picture perfect bodies and gorgeous faces? I will
never live up to that nor will I ever look like them. But that's okay, I don't need to. God says that my worth is not defined by the world's standards, my worth, and your worth, is defined by His infinite love for you. In Genesis 29 and 30 we see Jacob's wives, Leah and Rachel, struggling with envy, comparing themselves to each other, and resentment. Leah is not loved by her husband because her father tricked Jacob into marrying her, and Rachel feels worthless because she can't have children. But none of that ever mattered. The fact that Leah was not loved by her husband and that Rachel could not have children never changed the opinion of their Creator. God always saw them as the beautiful, unique individuals that they were. Just like He sees us as the beautiful, unique individuals that we are. No matter what the fad of the moment is, or the standard society has set that you feel like you can't meet, your worth has never and will never change in the eyes of God. You are always worthy. You are always loved. You are always cherished.
I hope that this has filled your heart with a little love and encouragement today! I would love to chat in the comments about your thoughts on these lessons or lessons God has been showing you recently. Thank you for reading!
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