January 12, 2020
BEING IN THE PLACE WHERE GOD WANTS YOU TO BE
Genesis 35:1-7
One of our greatest struggles as believers is surrendering our wills to the Lord and following Him to the place where He wants us to be. When we are not in the place of our appointment, which is the place where God wants us to be, then we cannot be as productive or effective for the Kingdom. In fact, we can find ourselves moving farther away from God. In today’s text, that was Jacob’s experience. God had met with Jacob at a place called Bethel, when Jacob was running from his brother Esau. Jacob had vowed that if the Lord would bring him back safely to his own land, then God would be his God. God did His part, but when He brought Jacob safely home to Canaan, Jacob did not return to Bethel—the place God wanted him to be, but he settled in a place called Shechem. When Jacob recognized the consequences of going his own way, he decided to go to Bethel—the place God wanted Him to be. As we look at this passage about Jacob’s journey to Bethel, we glean several insights:
We have to listen when God is speaking to us (verse 1).
We must get rid of the stuff that hinders our spiritual focus (verse2, 4).
We must acknowledge God with our worship (verses 3, 6-7).