Jul 6, 2011

The Blessing of the Lord's Leading Hand

"And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 'Bring the tribe of Levi near, and present them before Aaron the priest, that they may serve him."

"And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are given entirely to him from among the children of Israel."

"Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 'Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine, because all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the Lord.'"

Numbers 3:5-6, 9, 11-13

Brothers,

If you are like me, some of the Old Testament verses like the ones above can seem a bit boring and lacking in application. Before my devotions this morning I prayed that the Lord would make my reading productive. When I read these verses, it struck me that the Levites could not even choose their own occupation. Then I thought, "Well, is that a bad thing?" Do we "control our destinies," as corporate America would say? Of course not! Each and every one of us is called to follow Christ's leading in all our decision-making--including career choices.

The only difference between us and the Levites is how we determine God's will for our lives. Whereas God gave a direct decree through Moses telling the Levites what they would do, we discern this through prayer, counsel from godly authorities, etc. The end result is the same--we do NOT control our lives. If you think about it, that’s actually a blessing. Our loving, Sovereign, Omnipotent, Omniscient, Heavenly Father orchestrates our lives for our good and ultimately for His Glory! This realization convicted me that I have been focusing on my own material betterment and not on finding my God ordained place in the Body of Christ.

It is so easy to focus on good goals and treat them as an end in themselves--finishing high school/college, finding a good career, finding a spouse, raising a family some day, etc... However, as the catechism puts it, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever"! That goal trumps all others! Have you taken time to enjoy God this week?

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Your brother in Christ,

Joel C.

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