Thursday, January 11, 2007

They Are Meant for You Too


Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. Genesis 28:15 NASB

How many times do we read a portion of Scripture and think only of the person to whom God was directly speaking? For years, I failed to make a connection between God speaking to people in the Bible and God speaking to me. I thought David was so fortunate to have a God who delighted in Him. I thought the nation of Israel was so blessed to have a God who would never leave them. I thought Jacob was so privileged to have a God who promised to be with him. But I failed to see the same messages were meant for me. God’s intent had always been for me to hear Him say the words to me as well. He desires for each of us to take the words He spoke centuries ago and own them for ourselves. God’s words are meant to leap off the pages of Scripture and house themselves within us. If we limit them to only being meant for the person God originally spoke them to, we exclude ourselves from their power in our own life. It is imperative that we not separate ourselves from all that God wants to say to us through His Word.

So when we face unchartered territory we must listen as He says, “I am with you.” When difficulties arise we must drink in His whispers of “I will keep you wherever you go.” When we feel abandoned, forgotten, or alone we must take in His words of “I will not leave you.” It is meant to be just as real for us as it was for Jacob. That is one of reasons we say God’s Word is alive. He not only spoke to Jacob, He speaks to us presently. It is the same God, the same words, but different ears. Ours!

I love the note in my Amplified Bible next to the phrase ‘I am with you, and will keep you.’ It says “watch over you with care, take notice of.” It is said with compassion, warmth, tenderness, and affection. It is one thing to have a friend join you at a time of need. It is quite another thing for the Creator and Sustainer of the universe to be your very present help at all times! May His words be THAT personal to you not only today but every day.

Father, I am touched by Your words this morning. They really are meant for me! They are meant to draw me into close communion with You. May they become as much a part of me as my very breath. Amen.