David Guzik’s weekly devotional, based on a verse or two from the Bible.

The Gift of Having Enough

The Gift of Having Enough

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Then Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company which I met?” And he said, “These are to find favor in the sight of my lord.” But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” (Genesis 33:8-9)

When Jacob was last in the presence of his brother Esau, he heard his twin vow to kill him at his earliest opportunity. That was more than enough to make Jacob run as far as he could to the east, until he met and married into his mother’s family.

Now, after 20 years, Jacob was returning to Canaan and knew he would meet Esau. Jacob was terrified, remembering Esau’s threats and knowing his brother was the kind of rough man who could fulfill every violent promise.

The Gift of Having Enough

Jacob hoped to calm Esau’s temper with gifts. According to Genesis 32:13-20, Jacob’s gift included 220 goats, 60 camels, 40 cows, 10 bulls, and 30 donkeys. After receiving the gift, Esau finally met Jacob and first said to him, What do you mean by all this company which I met? Jacob’s generous gifts confused Esau. He did not expect them, showing that he had no sense of superiority over Jacob or did not have a strong sense that Jacob owed him.

The true beauty of Esau’s character is found in the phrase he used to reply to Jacob: I have enough. He initially refused his brother’s generous gift because was content with what he had. Esau wasn’t dominated by the itch to have more and more. He had enough.

It’s a great thing for every believer to say: I have enough. It communicates the heart of what Paul described in 1 Timothy 6:6: Godliness with contentment is great gain. This godly contentment is essential, yet difficult for many reasons.

– Saying I have enough is only truly possible when the heart is rooted in eternal things; and contentment is essential because it shows we are living with an eternal perspective, not only trying to feather an earthly nest.

– Saying I have enough is difficult, because modern consumer culture feeds our lack of contentment, by rewarding us when we are discontent, and with advertising that tries to make us feel discontent without buying a certain item or experience.

– Saying I have enough is difficult, because we almost always desire far more than we need.

It’s easy for many Christians to say they have this contentment; but whether they have it or not is often more truthfully known by looking at their spending and shopping habits. How much of a place does shopping and buying have in your life? How does the loss of material things affect your happiness? How happy do you get from having some material thing?

Esau’s peace and contentment showed him to be a remarkably blessed man, though he did not receive the promise of the Abrahamic covenant as he had hoped.

May you receive the great gift of being able to say, I have enough.

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 33

Click Here for Daily Devotionals from David

The Most Important Part of Prayer

The Most Important Part of Prayer

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Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the LORD who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children. For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’” (Genesis 32:9-12)

Someone once said, “you can’t go home again,” meaning that we can’t really return to our exact past. But Jacob tried to go home after being gone 20 years, remembering that brother Esau had vowed to kill him, so Jacob ran for his life. However, he could not stay away from the Promised Land forever, so in Genesis 32 Jacob came back to Canaan to face both his past and his future.

The Most Important Part of Prayer

Jacob didn’t first respond well to the pressure of coming home. He reacted in fear and unbelief. Then Jacob did something right, going to the LORD and praying with faith, thanksgiving, and God’s word.

First, notice Jacob’s prayer had God’s word: the LORD who said to me, “Return to your country and to your kindred, and I will deal well with you” (what God said in Genesis 31:3); For You said, “I will surely treat you well…” (what God said in Genesis 28:13-15). Praying the words of God’s word is important, and many prayers fall short because God’s word is not in them. Often, there is often none of God’s word in our prayers because there is so little of God’s word in us. Jacob did well to remember what God said.

Second, Jacob’s prayer had thanksgiving. He said, I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies. Jacob understood he was not worthy of what God had done, or what he was asking God to do. Instead, he relied on what God promised.

Finally, Jacob’s prayer had faith. He prayed, deliver me, I pray. Jacob boldly asked God to do something based on God’s own promise.

No matter how great Jacob’s prayer seemed to be, the true quality of his prayer would be seen after he prayed. Real prayer, great prayer, changes us. We can leave our prayer and face our situation with a different mind. George Mueller, a great man of faith and prayer, once was asked, “What is the most important part of prayer?” He replied: “The fifteen minutes after I have said ‘Amen.’”

Today, pray according to God’s word, pray with thanksgiving, and pray with faith. Most of all, stay firm in faith after you’re done praying.

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 32

Click Here for Daily Devotionals from David

The Dangerous Sin of Envy

The Dangerous Sin of Envy

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Now Jacob heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, “Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s, and from what was our father’s he has acquired all this wealth.” And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and indeed it was not favorable toward him as before. (Genesis 31:1-2)

The last verse of Genesis 30 explains that under God’s blessing, Jacob became a prosperous, wealthy man. Sometimes when people become prosperous, other people become envious of them. This what happened in Jacob’s case. When he grew wealthy, the sons of his father-in-law Laban became jealous.

The Dangerous Sin of Envy

Under the influence of envy, the sons of Laban lied about Jacob and the reason for his prosperity. They said, Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s. In truth, Jacob had not taken anything that belonged to Laban. Rather, it was that Jacob’s wealth was increasing faster than Laban’s wealth. The problem wasn’t that Jacob stole; it was that Laban’s sons were filled with envy.

Envy is a deep and dangerous sin, and it will distort the truth. Jacob had not taken anything of Laban’s, but envy will make people lie. Therefore, Laban’s sons said, Jacob has taken away all that was our father’s.

Worse, the envy of Laban’s sons began to poison the heart of Laban against his son-in-law Jacob. Over time, the countenance of Laban…was not favorable toward Jacob anymore. Previously, Laban was pleased with his agreement with Jacob (Genesis 30:34). Now, because of the poison of envy, Laban was no longer happy with their arrangement.

Envy is bad not only on its own, but also for the company it keeps. According to 1 Corinthians 3:3, envy is often accompanied by strive, divisions, and unspiritual living. Self-seeking, confusion, and evil things go envy (James 3:16). In contrast, love does not envy (1 Corinthians 13:4), and God wants to deliver His people from envy, considering it part of the believer’s past, not their present (Titus 3:3).

Envy is no small sin. In a sense, envy sent Jesus to the cross. When the religious leaders brought Jesus to Pontius Pilate for the death penalty, Pilate knew that they had handed Him over because of envy (Matthew 27:18).

Dear brother or sister in Christ, can you examine your life for the sin of envy? Do you resent it when others seemed blessed or prosperous? Do you often wish you had what belongs to others? Do you dread the success of other people? Do you take pleasure in the failure of others?

Envy is not a sin to take lightly, or to indulge in any way. Knowing the destructive power of envy, we must ask God’s Spirit to help us deal strictly with this sin. Living free from envy is true freedom – able to rejoice in the success and prosperity of others, and also able to deal with our own seasons of struggle.

Make it your prayer: “Lord, search my heart, and keep me free from the dangerous sin of envy.”

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 31

Click Here for Daily Devotionals from David

Principles of Prosperity

Principles for Prosperity

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Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys. (Genesis 30:43)

The man was Jacob, who left his home with no money, traveled far to the east to the land of his mother’s family, and who by hard work earned a double dowry for marriage. After cheating his brother and his father, Jacob was cheated by his uncle.

Principles of Prosperity

Despite it all, Jacob became exceedingly prosperous. According to Leupold, the Hebrew original of this phrase is, “The man burst out exceedingly exceedingly.” Jacob was so prosperous, so blessed by God, that his excess had excess! This was evident in the way wealth was held by most people in his time and place: large flocks, female and male servants, and camels and donkeys. All this meant that Jacob, who left home without any money, because a very wealthy man.

This wealth was one expression of God’s blessing in Jacob’s life. God blessed Jacob, but it was not because Jacob was especially good. It was because of the promises God made to Jacob (Genesis 28:13-15) and the covenant made to Abraham.

In a similar way, blessing comes from the LORD to His people not because they are great or good, but because of the covenant God has made with them through Jesus and the promises He has given in His word.

Still, we can learn a few principles for prosperity from Jacob.

Don’t make wealth your goal. Genesis 30:25-26 explains that Jacob would have been content to simply leave Laban and take his family back to Canaan. His original goal wasn’t to become rich, and he escaped the dangerous temptation and trap that comes to those who desire to be rich (1 Timothy 6:9).

Don’t be afraid to work for others and to increase their wealth before or as you work to increase your own wealth. In Genesis 30:27, Jacob’s employer (his father-in-law Laban) declared that God had blessed him because of Jacob’s faithfulness and hard work.

Work hard, dedicating yourself to your employer’s success. Genesis 30:26 and 31:38-42 tell us that Jacob’s path to wealth began by faithfully working for his father-in-law. Jacob could have been dishonorable and focused only on himself and his success. Instead, he also worked to be a blessing to his employer, even when it wasn’t easy.

Trust God. Genesis 30:31-33 describes a strange plan Jacob proposed to separate the herds and the offspring that belonged to him and to Laban. It’s hard to tell if the plan was Jacob’s idea or given by the LORD, but either way Jacob had to trust God – and God blessed Jacob with great prosperity.

God never promises that His people will all be rich in material things in all seasons of life. Yet these are good, everlasting principles. Don’t make wealth your goal. Don’t be afraid to benefit others. Work hard, and trust God. Doing these things honors God and puts us in the place to receive all He wants us to have.

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 30

Click Here for Daily Devotionals from David

The Ladder to Heaven

The Ladder to Heaven

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Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. (Genesis 28:12)

The sins of Isaac, Rebekah, Esau, and Jacob all combined to make a big mess, so big that Jacob had to flee from his twin brother who had vowed to kill him. Jacob traveled eastward toward Haran, in the ancestral lands of his grandfather Abraham (Genesis 11:31-32) and his mother Rebekah (Genesis 24:3-4).

Traveling alone through the desolate landscape, Jacob had a significant dream as he used a stone for a pillow. One can only imagine the strange flood of feelings in Jacob at this moment: the fear, the loneliness, the isolation, the excitement, and the anticipation. This was an important time in Jacob’s life.

The Ladder to Heaven

Jacob’s dream presented an interesting image. He saw a ladder on the earth, one that reached to heaven. Jacob saw in his dream the angels of God going up and down (ascending and descending) on the ladder.

Through this dream, God told Jacob that there was a way to access heaven – that heaven and earth were not permanently and completely separated – there was access to heaven. Jacob now knew God was closer than he had ever before believed and there was real interaction between heaven and earth. Heaven is not shut up, and God concerns Himself with what happens on earth. All this was a life-changing revelation to Jacob, who previously seemed to have litter interest in or regard for God.

In the New Testament, Jesus made specific reference to this dream of Jacob when He said to Nathanael: Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man (John 1:51). Here, Jesus said that He was the fulfillment of the ladder that Jacob saw in his dream. Jesus is humanity’s access to heaven, and Jesus is how heaven comes down to people and by which people can go to heaven. Jesus the Messiah is this ladder, the way to heaven.

Remember the great words Jesus spoke to His disciples the night before He went to the cross: I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6). Jesus didn’t say that He knew the way; Jesus said that He was the way. Jesus didn’t say that He pointed to the way; Jesus said that He was the way.

Jesus is the ladder, the way to God – and there is no other ladder or way. Jesus is the bridge between heaven and earth, and the way was made through His own sacrifice. it is in this sense that Jesus could say in John 1:51 that those angels were ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. He made the way Himself, by His own sacrifice.

In Jesus, you have access to heaven (Romans 5:1-2, Ephesians 2:6).

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 28

Click Here for Daily Devotionals from David

How to Be Blessed

How to Be Blessed

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Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, “Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—and indeed he shall be blessed.” (Genesis 27:33)

What a mess!

Before the twins Esau and Jacob were born, God announced (Genesis 25:23) that the older (Esau) would serve the younger (Jacob). This was out of the ordinary. Normally, the older was preferred, especially if he was a firstborn son.

How to Be Blessed

Yet, for some reason, the father of the twins (Isaac, the son of Abraham) decided that he would bestow the family and covenant blessing on Esau, not on Jacob. Then, the mother of the twins (Rebekah) plotted to deceive her elderly and almost blind husband, by tricking him into blessing Jacob instead of Esau.

Everyone in this story – Isaac, Rebekah, Esau, and Jacob – each one acted in man-centered wisdom and energy, not according to divine or spiritual wisdom and energy. Even Esau, in agreeing to Isaac’s plan to give him the birthright, disregarded his promise to give Jacob the birthright (Genesis 25:29-34). In this story, none of them trusted each other, and they didn’t trust God.

The worst aspect of all this is they seemed to regard the covenant blessing as magical, as something separate from God’s wisdom and will. But in giving the blessing, the most Isaac could do was to recognize God’s call and blessing on Jacob. Only God could truly grant the blessing. Esau could receive the “blessing” from Isaac a hundred times, but it only mattered if God in heaven honored it.

When Isaac discovered that he had, despite his intentions, blessed Jacob instead of Esau, then Isaac trembled exceedingly. The use of this strong phrase means that Isaac began to shake convulsively. He was overcome with a deep sense that something had gone wrong in his plan to bless Esau instead of Jacob.

Isaac trembled and was troubled because he knew he had sinned in attempting to work against the plan God revealed in Genesis 25:23 – and God defeated his effort. At this moment, Isaac realized he would always lose when he tried to resist God’s will, even when he didn’t like the Lord’s will. And he came to learn that despite his arrogance against God’s will, God’s plan was good, even glorious.

The New Testament later explains that Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau by faith (Hebrews 11:20). Isaac’s faith was demonstrated after his attempt to redirect the will of God was defeated and he said of Jacob, and indeed he shall be blessed.

Have you received the blessing of knowing that it is useless to struggle against God’s will, His plan? It’s amazing that sometimes we forget this basic truth, and God must bring us to the place where we understand what Isaac learned when he trembled exceedingly – that God is God, and as far as we understand His plan, we should submit to it. Then, indeed we shall be blessed!

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 27

Click Here for Daily Devotionals from David

Digging Again the Wells

Digging Again the Wells

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And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them. Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, and found a well of running water there. (Genesis 26:18-19)

By Genesis 26 Abraham has passed from the scene, succeeded by his son Isaac. This has always been how God’s work goes forward through time: one generation passes, another generation takes its place, and God continues His work. How those generations relate to each other is important, and Isaac’s actions in Genesis 26 give a practical and spiritual example of how a younger generation can act toward an older generation.

Digging Again the Wells

We read that Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham. In other words, Isaac returned to the same resources that had sustained his father and all he possessed (Genesis 21:25-31). It took faith, work, and commitment to dig the wells again, but God provided through Isaac’s diligence.

For nomadic herdsmen water was life. In some seasons of the year, human or animal life could not be sustained without water from wells. These wells were a necessity, not a luxury.

This is a powerful illustration of life in the spirit. The spiritual resources that sustained previous generations are available today, if we will seek them with faith, work, and commitment. Using this as a spiritual illustration, we might say that the wells of peace, power, grace, wisdom, and transformation are available for the believer today as they were for previous generations. The question is whether a present generation will have the faith, work, and commitment to dig the wells again.

Especially in our modern age, it’s easy to think that we have or need different, better resources than our spiritual forefathers had. We are easily impressed by the latest and supposedly greatest, by what is new and shines brightly. These are dangerous and self-defeating ideas. There are old paths for us to walk on, old wells for us to dig again.

Dear brother or sister, think it over. The faith that sustained Athanasius, Hus, Wycliffe, Wesley, and Graham is available to you today. It’s like an old, stopped up well that can provide if it is sought and dug out. In this spiritual analogy, we should be like Isaac and dig again the wells.

Then, we see a special bonus: Isaac found a well of running water. It seems that Isaac discovered something that Abraham had not found. Isaac found the best kind of well – one of running water. This was the best kind of provision, and it came to Isaac as he received the resources once enjoyed by his father Abraham.

As you dig again the old wells and walk on the old paths, God will lead you to fresh sources of spiritual provision – an extra gift of His grace!

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 26

Click Here for Daily Devotionals from David

When God Chooses

When God Chooses

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Finding God's Will

Finding God’s Will

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Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master. As for me, being on the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren. (Genesis 24:27)

Genesis 24 tells the story of a special servant of Abraham who had the job to travel far, find a bride for his master’s son, and return with the chosen bride. The servant isn’t named in Genesis 24 but was likely Eliezer of Damascus mentioned in Genesis 15:2. We don’t know of any other person who held this position in Abraham’s household.

Finding God's Will

The servant had a big responsibility. The wife of Isaac, Abraham’s son, would have an important place in the unfolding plan of God’s covenant promises to Abraham and his descendants. It would be natural for Eliezer to think, “I must be led by God to find and choose the right woman, and then God must move on her heart to agree. It must be the woman God chooses.”

Genesis 24 explains that Eliezer did something that everyone must do when they want to discover and live out God’s will: he prayed (Genesis 24:12-14). He surrendered the matter to the LORD, and in faith asked God to guide him and all the circumstances around the finding and choosing of this special woman. God answered his prayers, and he found Rebekah, at a well in the distant land he had traveled to. Rebekah showed a true servant’s heart when she volunteered to do the difficult work of watering the camels of Eliezer, who was a stranger to her. Eliezer also discovered that Rebekah was perfect because she was related to Abraham’s relatives, from the land Abraham came from.

When Eliezer explained this to Rebeka’s family, he used these words: being on the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master’s brethren. There is something important in those words. Eliezer made it clear that God led him while being on the way. In other words, Eliezer didn’t just sit back and wait for God to reveal every detail before he moved forward. Instead, the servant of Abraham got busy with what he could do – he went on his way – and that was when the LORD led him.

Dear brother or sister, if you want to see God’s guidance in your life, get on your way. Be active. Take steps forward in some direction, and you will see God lead you being on the way. There may be times when God wants us to stop and wait for Him before we do anything, but that isn’t God’s normal way of leading. Normally, God wants us to get on our way and expect His guidance as we go.

Generally speaking, it’s our duty to get on our way according to what God has revealed and trust He will guide us.

It’s hard to steer a parked car. Get on your way, and let God lead you.

Click here for David’s commentary on Genesis 24

Click Here for Daily Devotionals from David