Explore the Bible Series for May 18: Make major life adjustments

Posted: 5/09/08

Explore the Bible Series for May 18

Make major life adjustments

• Genesis 46:1-7, 28-30; 47:7-12

By Donald Raney

First Baptist Church, Petersburg

A wise person once said the only thing constant in life is change. Life often requires we alter our plans or routines. Issues related to our job, finances, health or family may force us to adjust our lives in order to accommodate new circumstances or resolve problems.

Yet while we all accept that change is a fact of life, few people welcome or enjoy change. Change means we have to move from what we know into what we do not know. Even when we can see how the change will be beneficial, we still may be apprehensive about the process.

The biblical accounts of the lives of the patriarchs have much to teach about adjusting to whatever life may bring. They teach the need to maintain our faith in a loving God as we face times of change. They remind us that even as our situations change, our faith is in a God who maintains his plans and promises to us.

Facing an extended famine was certainly difficult for Jacob’s family. Yet learning that Joseph was still alive and in a position to help them must have come as unimaginably good news. However, that help could only come by leaving the land of promise and taking up residence near Joseph in Egypt.

As we read the story, we can identify the path we may all walk as we exercise our faith and make major life adjustments in following God.

Apprehension (Genesis 46:1-7)

After years of running from his brother Esau, Jacob finally had settled down in the land God promised to give to the descendents of Abraham. Now, he faced the prospect of leaving that land in order to escape a severe famine and be reunited with his son, Joseph. Because of the conditions which led to the move, Jacob did not know if he or his family would ever return.

During Jacob’s years on the run, God had proven to be faithful, but Jacob still was apprehensive. God knew Jacob’s fear and uncertainty. Thus when Jacob had come to the southern border of the Promised Land at Beersheba, God spoke to reassure Jacob that God’s promises still held.

Today, many believers have set off determined to follow God. They believe God has called them to a specific occupation in a certain place and have gotten comfortable and in that place when something unexpected happens, and they sense God is leading them out of their comfort zone and into a new area of service or location. For many, the initial response is to repeatedly seek confirmation since the change was not expected and does not fit with our understanding of God’s plans for our life.

God understands uncertainty and apprehension always will accompany change. Yet God calls on us to lay aside those fears and make the needed adjustments through faith in God’s character and promises.

Joy (Genesis 46:28-30)

There is perhaps no more emotion-filled reunion in the Bible than between Jacob and Joseph. For years, Jacob had thought his favored son had been killed by a wild animal. Now, he has learned Joseph is not only alive, but is serving in the palace of pharaoh in a position from which he can rescue his family from famine.

Yet because of Joseph’s position, this reunion was only possible as Jacob moved beyond his apprehension and left his familial lands to travel to Egypt. Famine had created a great threat and forced Jacob to lead his family through change. Yet as he did so, he not only found relief from the threat, but unexpected joy from a reunion.

As we exercise our faith in the face of life changes or adjustments into the unknown, we too will find that we will be blessed beyond our expectations. How often have we bypassed abundant joy in life by refusing to make some change to our course through life?

Fulfillment (Genesis 47:7-12)

Although not explicitly stated in the Bible, one of the reasons for Jacob’s initial apprehension about moving to Egypt was that he connected the fulfillment of all of God’s promises to Abraham to the land. This certainly was the case with later generations who saw the land as the symbol and guarantee of their place as God’s chosen people.

Jacob assumed Abraham’s descendents would grow into a great nation as they occupied the Promised Land. Thus, in Jacob’s mind, leaving the land in some way prevented or at least delayed the fulfillment of those promises.

Yet God wanted to teach this people at the earliest stage of their development that God’s promises were not bound by their perception or the way they thought they should be fulfilled. God’s covenant was with people and did not require a specific geographical location in order to be fulfilled. Indeed God could fulfill his promise to multiply Abraham’s descendents into a great multitude even in the land of Egypt (Exodus 1:7).

God has promised to bless and protect all those who seek his face. God has demonstrated throughout the pages of the Bible and through our own life experiences that no set of circumstances can prevent God from seeing his promises through to fulfillment. Our task is simply to lay aside all fear or uncertainty and through faith make adjustments to our lives knowing that what awaits is the certain joy-filled fulfillment of all God has promised.