# 428 Knowing the Will of God

The Book of Genesis

Day 428

Ge 46:3 So He said, "I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there.  4 "I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes."  5 Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the carts which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.”

Jacob evidently had some concerns about leaving the Promised Land for Egypt. God addresses those concerns first of all by reminding Jacob who he is talking to. “”I am God!” “I’m in charge in Egypt as well as anywhere else. I will go with you , I will bring your family back out again, and Joseph, whom you thought was dead, will be with you when you die!

That’s all Jacob needed to hear! He immediately uncircled the wagons and took off for Egypt.

There are many uncertainties in life and Jacob was facing some of those in Beersheba. You and I also face uncertainties and it’s good to know that we can talk to the God who is in charge about these uncertainties. Questions like, “Should I take this other job? Should we pull up stakes and move to another community? Is this the person you want me to marry?” The questions are many and of great importance to us.

As Christians we should know that if we want something to prosper, we ought to first of all make sure it is within the will of God. As followers of Jesus  it should be our desire to act, go, and do according to what God has said in His Word.

Can you imagine Jacob responding to these words from God with, “No thanks God, I think we’ll just stay here and ask you to bless that instead.”

The first step in seeking God’s direction is humility. Humble yourself under the hand of God, and He will get you where you need to be. 1Pe 5:6 says, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,”

The difficult part is, more often than not, God’s Word and His calls to obedience are contrary to what our flesh desires and we wind up doing things contrary to God’s Word. We rush ahead of Him asking Him to bless our mess. A mess that could’ve been avoided, if we had listened to Him and His Word in the first place.