God is in Control

Bible Reading

Gen 30
Esther 6
Mark 1

Devotional Thoughts

This plan we have been reading has us reading 2 chapters in the Old Testament, and 2 chapters in the new each day. Lately they haven’t been going together to form a theme to write on, so I have been just writing on one. But today there was a bit of a theme, at least in 3 of the 4 chapters.

Genesis 30 is one of those chapters that proves that God doesn’t sugar coat, or hide the stories of the failures of his people. And to think that Gen 30 is the origin, the foundation, of his chosen people. This is where the 12 tribes of Israel originate! Somehow, in this sad, unbelievable story, I find hope that God can redeem any event, and any sin, for his purposes.

In Esther 6 we see a whole bunch of happenstance. The king happened to not be able to sleep (Esther 6:1) They happened to read about Mordecai’s thwarting the assassination attempt (Esther 6:2). Haman happened to be the one who came into the courtyard at that moment. (Esther 6:4) Mordecai was coming to the king with evil intent against Mordecai, but it happened that the king had Haman bestow honor on Mordecai instead. (Esther 6:10)

After reading these 2 chapters, it’s clear that God is able to use everything in our lives for his purposes! He used the sinful jealousy of 2 women to produce the founding fathers of the nation of Israel. He used the sleeplessness of the king to discover a good deed that had not been honored. He used the greedy, spiteful heart of Haman to give honor to the one who had been faithful. And God put a Jew in the royal palace to preserve His people from destruction!

Then, reading Mark 1:35-38 we see Jesus going to His Father to ask for wisdom and direction. And as Jesus prays, even though he was growing in popularity, and the crowds were seeking him, he chose to leave the crowds and continue going to places that hadn’t heard his message yet. Even Jesus sought His Father for direction, because it’s God who is in control of all these things!

Declarations:

• I acknowledge this morning that I need to seek God’s direction for my day and for my life. (Esther 3:16-18)
• I need to follow what He directs. (Mark 1:35-38)
• I need to trust Him in the circumstances and believe he will use them for his grand plan… and to show me more about himself. (Esther 3:16 Daniel 3:16-18, Ps 105:16-19)