Settling...

Picture this: Jacob, described as the kind of person who liked to stay home, was brewing up a pot of stew for himself. Along comes his ruddy brother, Esau, a skilled hunter, who is "famished" an demands some of Jacob's soup.

Jacob, being not just a homebody, but a homebody who has time on his hands to think up schemes, says the bowl will only cost Esau his birthright.

I don't know how many times I've heard this story, but the levels of stupidity a person can have never ceases to amaze me. I mean, couldn't Esau have gone to Mommy and asked for some food? Wasn't he a skilled hunter? Even John the Baptist could make a meal out of crunchy bugs...

But a birthright?

Genesis 25:31-34:
"Jacob replied, 'All right, but trade me your birthright for it.'
'Look, I'm dying of starvation!' said Esau. 'What good is my birthright to me now?'
So Jacob insisted, 'Well then, swear to me right now that it is mine.' So Esau swore an oath, threrby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his younger brothers. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate and drank and went on about his business, indifferent to the fact that he had given up his birthright."



Peanut Butter Jelly Time
Have you ever come in starving and think to yourself, I just need a little something until I can make dinner? So you slap together a PB&J and scarf it down. A few minutes later, you find out that you've just been invited to dinner at Red Lobster, or somewhere great and now you are too full to enjoy that fine meal.

OK, maybe that's really never happened before, literally, but metaphorically...?

How many times have we settled for the immediate solution, instead of completely working out the best possible answer? How many times have we settled for the job that seems safe and secure. Or what about when you're out shopping and buy a decent pair of shoes, only later to find the perfect pair of shoes for even cheaper? Raising my hand here. I was too lazy to keep looking, too impatient to wait for what I really wanted, and figured good enough is good enough.

See? When I read the story of Jacob and Esau, I want to say Esau was a moron.
But....

But....

But....

I think it's easier to settle for that bowl of soup, than we think. Especially, when things become uncertain and the security blanket is hard to release. Especially when your tummy is rumbling and the bread and peanut butter is right there. Especially when one road looks pretty darn easy to travel while the other is full of brambles and rocks.

"Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau. He traded his birthright as the oldest son for a single meal. And afterward, when he wanted his father's blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he wept bitter tears." Hebrews 12:16-17 NLT

God has promised good for us. God doesn't lie.
"If God is for us, who can be against?" Rom. 8:31

"And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow, won't he more surely care for you? You have so little faith!" Matt. 6:30

"Now, glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to to ask or hope." Eph. 3:20

"Don't get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time." Gal. 6:9

Is that enough? There's more where this came from. Seriously.
So what are you settling for? Is God calling you to something higher, yet more risky? Are you afraid to be uncomfortable for awhile as you race down that rocky, twisted path after Him?

It's hard. I won't lie. It's even scary. Real scary sometimes.

Yet, I leave you with one more Bible truth and then you'll have to figure it out for yourself.

"God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God's generosity can flow through you. Are you called to be a speaker? Then speaks as though God himself were speaking through you. Are you called to help others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then God will be given glory in everything through Jesus Christ. All glory and power belong to him forever and ever. Amen." 1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT

Be Blessed,
J.