How will I respond?

Genesis 25:29-34, "Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!"..."Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright." "Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?" But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright." (NIV)



Oh, the depths of this passage challenge my heart. Esau's insatiable hunger for immediate gratification sacrificed his birthright. His desire to have his immediate needs met and impatience cost him his future.

Today, I'm challenged once again...


Will I sacrifice God's favor for immediate relief? Pleasure? Gratification? Will I be lured away from God's BEST to pursue after wealth, recognition, and a life of comfort? Will I cave to the pressures of the immediate and seek an easy way out?

In Luke 9:62, Jesus said, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." (NIV)

Sometimes I feel like the Israelites. Pharaoh's army behind me, the Red Sea in front of me. NO way of escape.

How will I respond?

Like Moses? Or the Israelites?

Will I intercede and follow God's instruction? Lift up my staff and watch the Sea part? Or, will I grumble and complain and wish I could go back to Egypt? Will I idolize what was by the reality of what is? Or will I press on in expectation of what God says will be?

Today, I encourage you to join me. Let's never give up. Let's trust our God to be faithful. Let's hold on to our birthright and eagerly await God's provision.

Who's with me?

Let's abandon our lives for His glory. Here's a couple of passages we can meditate on for today:

• Mark 8:36-37 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? (NIV)
• Luke 9:62, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." (NIV)
• Matt 6:24, "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." (NIV)