Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“God spoke to Israel in visions of the night, and said, ‘Jacob, Jacob.’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said, ‘I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there.’”
NL Daily Devotion for Saturday, September 30, 2023
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Change is scary. Jacob/Israel had been living in one place for a long, long time. Now the promise of seeing his son, long believed to be dead, and surviving the famine drove him from all he had known into another country with different customs, beliefs, gods, and more. In the passage just before this one, the moment Jacob hears that Joseph is still alive, he is ready to just pick up and go. But it is telling that as they stop along the way, God calls out to him and says, “Don’t be afraid.” God knows that Jacob is afraid, and encourages Jacob to trust God that all will be for the best in the end. Jacob doesn’t need to know that God is playing a long game—that yes, Israel will grow and flourish and become a great nation within Egypt, but then it will all go south and that same nation will have to flee four hundred years later. All Jacob needs to know is that this God is the God of Jacob’s father, Isaac, and that Jacob can trust God to take care of him and all that he holds dear.
Sometimes we can be given an opportunity for an exciting change in our lives—a new relationship or job or a relocation to a new place. We might be absolutely certain about it, ready to do whatever it takes to make it happen. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to be scared about it. Change—even positive change—involves loss: loss of what is familiar. Thus excitement might be accompanied by grief. Joy by sorrow. But in the midst of it, God calls us to trust God, promising us that no matter what happens, God’s got it.
When have I had to make a huge change in my life? How did I feel about it? How did my faith help me navigate these feelings?
