01.19.13
Genesis 48.20 20 He blessed them that day and said, “In
your name will Israel pronounce this blessing: 'May God make you like Ephraim
and Manasseh.’” So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. (NIV)
Jacob’s father Isaac loved his son Esau more that he
loved Jacob, but Jacob was God’s choice. At the end of his life Jacob was
getting his house in order and his beloved son Joseph brought his two sons to
obtain their patriarchal blessing from Grandpa Jacob. The accepted order would
be that Manasseh would receive the greater blessing because he was the older of
the two sons. Joseph expected Manasseh to receive the greater blessing but
Ephraim was God’s choice.
God’s choice is not our choice. God’s blessing is given
to whom He chooses in the order in which He chooses. God doesn’t do always what
we expect Him to do. I don’t know why God choose Ephraim before Manasseh but I
do accept it because it doesn’t surprise me that even with His own, God does
what God does. And it is righteous and good.
God accepts the one who comes to Him and asks for His
help. The one who truly asks, is the one who truly believes. And the one who
truly believes then begins to live by the accepted order of how things work in
the Kingdom of God: God calls all the shots. God exalts whom He wants to exalt
and puts down whom He chooses to put down. It hasn’t a thing to do with what we
amount to on earth; it only amounts to His choosing and His order.
The rub for us is we have a tough time melding our order
with His Order; sometimes the pieces just don’t want to fit…for us. It calls
for great grace for a father to stand and listen that the older will serve the
younger when his mind is already made up in the other direction. Joseph may
have gone home that night and told his wife about it and shakes his head, “I
just don’t get it!” But Joseph didn’t need to get it as long as God is in
charge.
Our part in all this is to live a God-directed life. Our
part is to be so loving, cooperative, and trusting that we accept humbly and
gratefully whatever God chooses to do. Someone may get the promotion over us –
and we bless them outwardly… and inwardly. Someone may get a bigger slice of
the pie and we find ourselves rejoicing that our plate comes back empty – and that
theirs is full. The Kingdom doesn’t operate the way we see fit – only the way
God has seen fit.
My part is to know, and do, what is acceptable at that
point: when the Kingdom takes a turn I
didn’t see coming. My job is to bless the Lord, o my soul and forget none
of His benefits (Psalm 103). My job, in the strength and presence of the Holy
Spirit, is to withstand the human tendency to control things – and the human
tendency to grumble inwardly. The Kingdom has no place for grumblers. God knows
what He is doing and I need to simply rest in that thought and enjoy wherever
the ride goes from there…
Lord, grant me that I would understand that I am to trust
You no matter what, amen.
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