Monday, October 18, 2010

GOD'S PREPARATION FOR MOVING OUT

"In this way the man grew exceedingly prosperous and came to own large
flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and camels and donkeys."- Genesis 30:43

Jacob left his homeland after suffering a broken relationship with Esau
for stealing the family blessing. He went to work for his uncle Laban
where he stayed for 20 years. It came time for him to leave, but he had
no physical assets to show for those years under Laban. Laban had taken
advantage of his nephew in every way. (In some ways, Jacob was reaping
the seed he had sown his entire life as a manipulator and controller.)
Nevertheless, God's hand was on Jacob, and He had plans to prosper him.
However, Jacob had one problem - he had no resources of his own. For
Jacob to launch out on his own, he would need resources. In those days,
resources often meant large flocks of animals. God gave Jacob a dream
that resulted in a strategy for creating wealth by multiplying his
sheep. Even though Laban sought to thwart Jacob's efforts, God overcame
the evil in Laban to allow Jacob to prosper.
There are many important lessons for us in this story. First, when God
decides it is time to move you into a larger place of His calling, He
has the ability to provide the resources you need to support the call.
God gave Jacob a dream that resulted in a strategy never used before to
build wealth. It was totally from God's hand. It was creative and new.
God called Jacob to move out after he had demonstrated his faithfulness
in 20 years of serving Laban. He learned to live under authority and
served Laban faithfully, even though he knew he was being taken
advantage of.
God will do the same for you and me. However, a word of caution: Be
sure the strategy is born from above, and not from self-effort. The
difficulty for most of us workplace believers is to learn the
difference between the strategies born of God versus the strategy of self-effort.

No comments: