God's Sustaining Grace

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Genesis 29:2, 19-30

² And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying by it;  for out of that well they watered the flocks:  and a great stone was upon the well's mouth. ¹⁹ And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man:  abide with me.   ²⁰ And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; 

and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.   ²¹ And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.   ²² And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.   ²³ And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her. ²⁴ And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid.   ²⁵ And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah:  and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me?  did not I serve with thee for Rachel?  wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?  ²⁶ And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.   ²⁷ Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.   ²⁸ And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week:  and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.   ²⁹ And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.   ³⁰ And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.

From the above passage we can see how Jacob suffered and served his father-in-law extra seven (7) year because of Rachael. How many of us can persevere like that till the end? That you are having problems or challenges does not mean that God is not with you. Take Joseph for instance, he refused to sleep with his masters wife and was put to prison, God was with him, he persevered to the end and was later made a governor. Do not allow the pleasure of today destroy your destiny.

• ·         GOD'S SUFFICIENT GRACE

Genesis 39:21

But the LORD was with Joseph, and showed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

No matter what you are going through in life, never think that God has forsaken you. No! He hasn’t, He will see through, you will overcome, His grace is sufficient for you. Always stand with the truth; you do not know what God is planning for you. What if Joseph had slept with His master’s wife? What do you think would have happen to his destiny?

2^nd Timothy 3:10-12

¹⁰ But thou hast fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, charity, patience, ¹¹ Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra;  what persecutions I endured:  but out of them all the Lord delivered me.   ¹² Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 

Do not compromise your faith because of a job, my dear if you do, you are trading your future for something less than a plate of food. Look at how Esau sold his birth right for a plate of food. I guess he sought for it with tears but could not get it back. You can learn from others mistake but please be careful with your destiny in other to avoid people learning from your own mistakes, just like the case of Esau. Act as a stepping stone for other believers to stand.

I remember the case of a brother who was unemployed, went for an aptitude test in a bank, he did excellent in the test and interview, he was fit for the job but there was a problem, his age was above required age limit. So, instead of the bank losing him he was asked to falsify his age, but he politely refused and then he was asked to leave. Lo and behold, before he stepped out of the banking hall,  he was called back and the manager said to him, “You are the kind of person we want, when are you resuming?”

• ·         SPIRITUAL GROWTH

Genesis 49:22

Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall: 

2^nd Chronicles 16:9

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.

Psalm 92:12

The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree:  he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

Romans 8:28

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.  

You do not need to ask God, how things will work out, just trust God and heaven will work out things for your own good. When you are steadfast to God in your suffering, you are actually making God happy. Remember what he said to the devil about his servant Job in Job 1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? When you overcome a particular challenge, you create room for growth because your knowledge in Him and His capabilities increases. You can’t compare it to someone that always fall in sight of any little challenge. My dear, rising today falling the next minute or always is not growth. When you are steadfast with God in all things He will give you greater power to manifest His potentials in you.

Isaiah 40:28-31

²⁸ Hast thou not known?  hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary?  There is no searching of his understanding.   ²⁹ He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.   ³⁰ Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:  ³¹ But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary;  and they shall walk, and not faint.  

• ·         GOD'S GLORY

Genesis 4:17-18

¹⁷ For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; ¹⁸ While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen:  for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 

2^nd Timothy 2:9-13

⁹ Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.   ¹⁰ Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.   ¹¹ It is a faithful saying:  For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:  ¹² If we suffer, we shall also reign with him:  if we deny him, he also will deny us:  ¹³ If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful:  he cannot deny himself.  

1^st Peter 1:3-5

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, ⁵ Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 

What more can I say? Be strong, be steadfast, there is glory for every cross we bear.