ERUPTIONS IN ANGER
 
                                A quick-tempered man acts foolishly.  Proverbs 14:17

       Take a glass that is mostly full of water, add a little more, and it will spill over the side.  Take a man or woman who is already full of rage, add one small incident, and the anger will spill over.  Many who will erupt today over the smallest issue aren’t really reacting to the incident at hand.  They were simply filled to the brim with rage before the episode ever occurred.  The ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’ got all the attention as there was no more room left in their container for any more anger.
Each of us were created with a lot of elasticity in our spirit to withstand the pressures of life.  But for many, that elastic has been stretched to the limit by the events of their youth.  With no more ‘give’, it’s pulled taut.  It’s brittle and it snaps easily.
What is the answer for a hot-tempered person?  He must discern what it is he’s angry about and take the initiative to deal with it.  Living in perpetual rage is not fair to friends and family.  Children live with an angry parent and never know when the lid is going to blow.  It is usually over a gallon of milk left out on the counter or something else equally as insignificant.  Husbands live with an angry wife and tiptoe around the house, not knowing what it will be that will set her off.
Underneath the rage is usually a profound sense of powerlessness and injustice.  Each of us longs to live in Eden, that place where people could be trusted implicitly.  We strain for justice and when it seems out of reach, especially as children, we don’t know what to do with the hurt.  Rage is the result of a compilation of offenses.  Only God can give perspective and healing.
Bottom line ~ rage hurts the one who harbors it.  And, it hurts the ones who live around it.  God promises peace, rationality, and the ability to be long-suffering to anyone who is courageous enough to take inventory of his own soul.

Jesus, You have transformed many angry people.  Heal Your children.  Give them  willing hearts to look at the hurt inside.  Hold them.   Amen

WHEN GOD MAKES OTHERS AFRAID OF US

When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled, he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him for seven days and followed close after him into the hill country of Gilead. But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.” Genesis 31:22-24

         How does God protect us if we are His child? He nudges us to take a different route, buy a different house, even make a different friend. He’ll send angels to stand guard to keep us from harm. What’s little known is how God directly warns our enemies to stay away from us. He shuts the ‘mouth of the lions’ and puts a watch on their tongue. Certainly not all the time though. He didn’t even do this for Jesus. Like Him, we will be hated and are called to carry a cross. But God has a destiny for each of us, a purpose for which we were born. He will take us safely through all He has ordained for us to do and protect us when His purposes are threatened.

         God came to Laban in his own Aramean tongue and told him what to say to Jacob. He came to the heathen King Abimelech to keep him from touching Sarah, Abraham’s wife. He also spoke to Balaam to prevent him from cursing the children of Israel. I can know that spiritual enemies are on God’s leash. No one will prevail over God’s child if it is outside of His will. He will intervene somehow even if it means speaking directly to our enemy. Have you ever encountered a dark person who seemed afraid of you? Perhaps you were confused about it. In these post-Christian days where society is rapidly deteriorating, we should be savvy enough to realize that this will become commonplace. The more oppressed the person, the more sparks will be generated when a child of God is in the same room.

         A closing thought however. The safest child of God is an obedient one. I shouldn’t expect God’s protection if I’ve taken a self-willed detour. God made it clear from the beginning. ‘Obey me and you’ll be blessed. Disobey me and you’ll be led into captivity.’ God does protect but I can only count on God having my back if I am walking in Jesus’ footsteps.

It’s humbling to think about all the times you restrained my enemies yet I accused you of being absent from my life. Again, I’m sorry. How I praise You for being a present and active Father. Amen

Journal Question: Write out a prayer today and ask God to hold the tongue of someone who habitually attacks you. Put their speech under the control of God’s Spirit. Note the effect.

INVISIBLE INFLUENCES

So Jacob arose and set his sons and his wives on camels. Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father’s household gods. Genesis 31:17,19

         Jacob is about to leave for Canaan. Laban is out of the camp, away in distant fields with his sons. With no one watching, Rachel steals her father’s idols. I’ve always believed that there was a part of her that held on to her father’s gods for protection but the reason is much broader.

         Whoever possesses a family’s gods is considered the leader of the family, and the one who possesses the rights to the father’s inheritance. If Rachel were the oldest, that’s one thing. But Rachel had brothers! With Laban away and out of sight, Rachel stole her brothers’ inheritance.

         I read this with wide eyes this morning. She committed the same sin as her husband. He had tricked his father into giving him Esau’s blessing and inheritance. Had Jacob told Rachel the story? I don’t know. But ‘like often produces like’ even in the invisible world. In families, grievous sins are passed down and re-committed even though the next generation often has no idea what their ancestors committed. It’s ‘in the blood.’

         Just as new blood flow is needed to repair physical wounds, new blood flow is also needed to repair spiritual wounds. No one’s blood has the power to wash a bloodline clean except what Jesus freely offers. He longs for us to apply the cleansing power of His sacrifice to our ancestral line. There need not be insidious generational influences looming over our families any longer. I need not stand by and watch the consequences of my family’s sin hurt my children and grandchildren. I can stop the unholy legacy from continuing by applying the blood of Christ to each generational pattern that holds my family captive. By doing this, Christ cancels out the effects that were caused by their sin.

         Invisible influences are destructive but in Christ, they are also supernaturally positive and redemptive.

Father, someone is coming to You in the name of Your Son, Jesus. They long to be free from the negative and invisible influences of family. Guide them, Holy Spirit, in a spiritual housecleaning so that they may live as Your children rather than the obedient children of fallen flesh and blood. Amen

HOW DO I KNOW GOD’S WILL?

All the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. Now then, whatever God has said to you, do.” Genesis 31:16

         Should Jacob leave Laban’s household, take his two daughters (Jacob’s wives), and go back to his home country? A huge decision. Yes, he had been betrayed by Laban but betrayal is not always a cause for fleeing.

         It is my experience that discerning God’s will involves many steps. It requires the discernment to recognize the signs which only comes by asking God for it. How did Jacob know it was time to leave?

         Griffith Thomas, a Welsh theologian of the late 1800’s, pointed out in his writings several principles for discerning God’s will and he used Jacob’s story to make his point.

1. Jacob had a desire to leave. (Genesis 30:25) When I walk closely with God, my desires are shaped by my time with Him and the Word changing my appetites. God longs to give me the desires of my heart yet I can often think my desire, whatever it is, must be squashed.
2. Circumstances necessitated a change of some sort. It has been my experience that God will cause things to close in around me, making going forward impossible. That is usually a sign it’s time to do something else.
3. God’s word came strongly to him. I must ask God to speak and give me the ears and eyes to recognize His voice. It might be through the Word itself, someone else’s advice, or through a dream. God is most creative.
4. Finally, there was confirming support from his wives, despite their natural ties to their father. Here is the place where families are fractured. A man is called to go overseas and just feels like he can mandate that to his family. He doesn’t give them time to pray and seek God. He doesn’t pray with them and ask God to also give them the same desire. He forces the move prematurely. God Spirit wants to move over families, not just fathers or mothers.

         I have found all these steps to be true. I don’t know why God doesn’t make it easier. It appeared to be easier, at first glance, for the patriarchs. God spoke audibly and told them exactly what to do. Ah, but they didn’t have the Spirit of God inside, nudging, whispering, compelling, and emotionally reacting. For every one of you today who is making a life changing decision, this comes with a prayer.

Lord, confirm Your Word to your servant. Don’t let them walk into trouble. I bind their mind to You and I loose their mind from self-made plans and deception. Stir up holy desire. Shut the mouth of their enemy who would skew the signs. Let Your Word live and speak. Let confirmations come, even today, with nothing to deter them. In Jesus name, Amen

CHALLENGING LOYALTY TO FAMILY FOR GOD’S SAKE

         So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was and said to them, “I see that your father does not regard me with favor as he did before. But the God of my father has been with me. You know that I have served your father with all my strength, yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times. Genesis 31:4-7

         How many marriages implode because couples can’t talk honestly about their parents? It’s hard to ‘leave and cleave’. Childhoods are sacred unless there has been unhappiness we’re anxious to leave behind.

         Jacob has tough news to tell his wives. Their father has cheated him 10x his wages. Will they be defensive? And when Jacob tells them it’s time to leave home and everything familiar and head for Canaan, a foreign land, how will they respond?

         There comes a point in every person’s life when God calls us to see the truth about our family. I am to embrace the good, acknowledge the bad, and cling to God for grace as I grieve and make different choices. I am to love God more than my ancestors and love truth more than I love the ‘family way of doing things’. If everybody did this, it would be easier but only a minority face the truth of their families and are willing to live as God’s son or daughter. They risk being the only one in their families who are willing to be sanctified, ‘set apart’, from everyone else.

         There is an unwise way to talk to our spouses about their parents. It’s when past hurts affect my tone.  Legitimate complaints are disregarded because my words are vicious. Every conversation that exposes ungodliness in family needs a lot of prayer beforehand. You know the truth of the phrase, ‘Blood is thicker than water.’ It’s hard to hear someone else, even a spouse, talk about my parents and siblings and not immediately think, ‘How dare you!’

         Rachel and Leah heard Jacob’s account of Laban’s treacherous ways. They believed him and were able to see the truth of their father’s weaknesses. Few scriptures are more well known that this one. “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” Never is this more true than when I see my family as God sees them. When I embrace the truth of my origins, endless spiritual possibilities open up before me.

How long it took for me to see the faults of the family I love; even longer to see my own faults. Thank you for not giving up and continuing to bring the truth before my eyes. Amen

Journal Question: Is there something you’ve been unwilling to acknowledge about your family? Has another family member been trying to talk to you about it? Ask God to show you what following Him means. Would you be willing today to be ‘open’ to the truth?   Tell God why or why not.

RESENTING THOSE WHO ARE BLESSED

Laban said, “Good! Let it be as you have said.” [But] he set a three days’ journey between himself and Jacob and Jacob pastured the rest of Laban’s flock. Genesis 30:34,36

         Laban’s view of Jacob was very limited. He did not know the struggles of the first three decades of Jacob’s life. All he saw was the blessing of God on Jacob those seven years. Everything Jacob touched prospered. So when Jacob offered to take the least amount of the flocks (the striped, spotted, and black), and only count those and their offspring as his, it sounded like a great deal to Laban but misgivings set in. Though Laban clearly had the advantage on paper, he had seen God’s blessing on Jacob firsthand. He knew that, somehow, Jacob would prosper. Scheming ensued to make sure Jacob would be the disadvantaged in the deal.

I can look at the life of someone God blesses and witness firsthand how God takes whatever little they have in their hands to continually produce abundance. I can privately hate them for it. I find little ways to steal from them, even if it’s their reputation. I delight in finding flaws in their character, in their family, and relish telling others that they’re not so perfect. Such is the bent of my flesh without God.

Laban’s issue was with God, not with Jacob. If he felt forgotten and second-rate, this was not Jacob’s doing. Since Laban didn’t even acknowledge Yahweh, he had no way to cope spiritually except to take matters in his own hands.

This past Sunday, I was visiting a church where there had been a divine healing of a young man’s cancer. After praying, the tumor was just gone. The congregation was invited to praise out loud. Next to me was a dear friend who has survived brain, and breast, cancer. Healing prayers were prayed for her too but God did not do for her exactly what he did for this young man. Though she clapped and celebrated his good news, I wondered if there was a brief struggle in her soul though she is in remission.

If you are in painful times today and your trust in God is shaken by another’s blessing, press through your anger to seek God. “Man is born unto trouble…” and looking at others lives through momentary lenses is dangerous. Good and bad times are allotted to us all.

Help my unbelief. I have often despaired that your ‘plans for others were good’ — but I was excluded. Time proved otherwise but help me trust you when I can NOT see. Amen

Journal Question: Do you envy another’s story? What must you do to be right with God? What beliefs are simmering in your anger?

“GO HOME!”

For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?” Genesis 30:30

         When you have a gift that greatly benefits others, it will be in high demand. It can feel as if the gift is both a blessing and a curse. It’s hard to tell who your real friends are. You’re popular, yes, but is it because of your gift or because of the person you are?

         Jacob had God’s blessing. Everything he touched of Laban’s prospered. It is no surprise that the gift Jacob gave of seven years of labor turned into a kind of slavery. Laban had no intention of letting Jacob go. At this point though, it was time to think about his own family’s provision. Their future was at stake.

         In the generation before me, this was the philosophy of ministry: Give everything to ministry and God will take care of your family. As a teenager, I got to personally witness ministry families. Fathers would take off for weeks, sometime for months. Mothers raised the children. To this day, I see fallout from children who lived in a fatherless environment.

         It is easy to give your gift where it is appreciated. Ministry can be an aphrodisiac and all the while, family suffers. Is today the day when you should go home? You simply can’t ignore the needs at home any longer. It won’t be easy to put your family first. Initially, their anger will be center stage over your absence. Persevere. Humbly ask for forgiveness and prove, with time, that you are sincere.

         I’ve been in ministry 38 years. For many of them, I’ve sung to packed auditoriums and known night after night of standing ovations. It was addicting but also necessary to turn down great invitations in exchange for being a wife and mother. Believe me, I haven’t always gotten it right. One night in Canada some years ago, God brought a woman to me who offered this prophetic word. “Go home and cultivate faithfulness.” The spirit of conviction burned through my soul. I made some course corrections.          Putting others before myself is always hard. I can resent them for needing me. What is the remedy?Letting God show me His will for my life and knowing that this is the way of blessing and peace. Ultimately, everything I do is for the glory of God and that often means saying no to the church and yes to a spouse or child.

Families are falling apart. The window of time to repair it is short. Show all of us who read this today how it applies. Amen

Journal Question: What would it mean for you to stand in Jacob’s place today and tell your ‘Laban’ that it’s time for you to take care of family?

DON’T GO!

 As soon as Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country. But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that the Lord has blessed me because of you. Name your wages, and I will give it.” Genesis 30:25,27-28

         God’s blessing over a group of people often comes with a person. A righteous mother or father brings God’s favor upon their household. Remove that person however, and things change. The glory of God leaves. Whatever spiritual veneer was there is removed and the true spirituality of the people who are left is revealed. God’s servant kept a lid on things by their very presence.

         Laban knew that God had blessed his family when Jacob arrived. The thought of Jacob leaving must have sent panic through Laban’s heart. What about the prosperity he enjoyed? Would it end? In most cases, it does.

         My mother died when I was thirty. She had always been a quiet strength in our home. She was also a presence of restraint. We loved her so deeply that we sat on inappropriate comments and angry outbursts. Her death, however, changed everything. The cancer of family dysfunction surfaced after she was gone. What was hidden by her very presence was revealed slowly over time. It became clear to me why God took her home.

         Have you heard people express their angst with God over why He appears to take the good people home and leaves the unrighteous to affect the earth? Perhaps you’ve said goodbye to a saint in your family. You believe they died before their time. Everything seemed to fall apart without them.

         As it should! God gives each person, and each family, a window of time to deal with their issues. Insight and understanding are theirs for a short time only. This is their chance to humbly deal with their sin, their past hurts, and draw near to God for forgiveness and change. If a person chooses spiritual blindness and rebellion, God often closes the door of opportunity and gives them over to a hardened heart in the area of their weaknesses. I’ve seen it over and over. Even in Christians.

         If someone with God’s favor is about to leave your home, don’t despair. God is about to bring light and opportunity to whomever is left. Spiritual needs will be exposed.

         If you are the righteous one about to leave people you care about; family, business, church, etc…. know that God will use your absence for their good. Pray for them. You’ve been a light but now it’s time to see if they will seek the Light without you.

Bring Your Spirit of revival to those without You today. Help them remember their legacy and repent. Amen

Journal Question: Can you recognize what God is doing in your family and in your life? If you gained insight from today’s devotional, write out what God has shown you while it’s fresh manna.