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God Has You in Mind

Words of Faith Final

God Has You in Mind
Words of Faith 5-25-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL    
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Genesis 29     
    Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples. [2] There he saw a well in the field, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well. The stone over the mouth of the well was large. [3] When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well's mouth and water the sheep. Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.
    [4] Jacob asked the shepherds, "My brothers, where are you from?"
    "We're from Haran," they replied.
    [5] He said to them, "Do you know Laban, Nahor's grandson?"
    "Yes, we know him," they answered.
    [6] Then Jacob asked them, "Is he well?"
    "Yes, he is," they said, "and here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep."
    [7] "Look," he said, "the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture."
    [8] "We can't," they replied, "until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we will water the sheep."
    [9] While he was still talking with them, Rachel came with her father's sheep, for she was a shepherdess. [10] When Jacob saw Rachel daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, and Laban's sheep, he went over and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered his uncle's sheep. [11] Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep aloud. [12] He had told Rachel that he was a relative of her father and a son of Rebekah. So she ran and told her father.
    [13] As soon as Laban heard the news about Jacob, his sister's son, he hurried to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his home, and there Jacob told him all these things. [14] Then Laban said to him, "You are my own flesh and blood."

         A lot of things had changed IN Jacob but nothing had really changed FOR Jacob. God had always had a plan for him. But after Jacob's dream he knew personally the presence and affirmation of God. We begin to see a new man.  
       While some of the old ways were still with him, we can see a man differently motivated. Jacob was moving toward a future rather than away from a consequence. He knew the blessing of God that was upon him and the destiny of God that was before him.
        We cannot help but see the similarities between Jacob's discovery of Rachel and Abraham's servant's discovery of Rebekah years earlier. Although Jacob does not reflect as much upon the guidance and providence of God as Eliezer did, clearly God's hand was in this meeting and he knew it. Jacob realized that this place was where his uncle's flocks were watered. He then learned that the beautiful young shepherdess approaching was indeed of the clan he was marrying into.
        We see some remarkable qualities in Jacob here. We see strength, optimism, faith, and a concern for others. The stone covering the well was obviously heavy. The shepherds were either lazy or rather weak. They waited until a group of shepherds had arrived before moving the heavy stone. Jacob saw the beautiful Rachel approaching and in a burst of emotion and strength he moved the stone by himself and watered his uncle's sheep.
        The realization of God's careful provision and love gave Jacob the power to move an obstacle and step into the future God was providing. Jacob surely sensed the faithfulness of God and this brought him to tears. God had provided him with a beautiful woman who would one day be his bride and soon Laban would greet and welcome him into the family.
         There is perhaps nothing so moving as the realization that God has us specifically in mind. Jacob had spent years trying to get ahead not realizing that God had blessing in mind for him all along! That blessing was made clear in the vision of the stairway and the pronouncement of God that Jacob would be the father of a great nation.  
        Jacob may have wondered how this would come to pass since he did not yet have a wife but all that was coming clear now. God brought a lovely bride into Jacob's life. As Motel says in "Fiddler on the Roof", she was "a perfect match, made to measure, like a glove."  God had always had Jacob in mind.
          Did you know that God has you in mind? This realization can empower us to move obstacles and step into the future God has planned for us! We may not always see it but God is at work all around us. The Lord God declares, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness" (Jeremiah 31:3). "I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11). God has you in mind.

         Lord I am so thankful that You have thought of me. I give thanks that You are watching over me and You are drawing me with Your loving-kindness toward a future of Your design. I give thanks that You have a plan for me, a hope and a future.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)        
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.