Great weekend. Made good choices. Stayed fully committed. Missed my special little family but so thankful for the time the Lord gave me away with my friends. I heard from Him much this weekend and was constantly reminded of His faithfulness and love. That devil reared his ugly head a few times but I beat him down. So grateful the Holy Spirit dwells within me because without Him I would have failed miserably. Let's open our Bibles and read chapter 18 or just click here.
This chapter talks about reminding us to remember the Levites, the occult and the Prophets. Very interesting combo here. During this study today I uncovered some pretty good stuff that I didn't ever realize before so I thought I would share. So, I was reading more about the Levites and their history. They were chosen to be the Priests and one of the main reasons it seems is because they were the only tribe that stayed faithful the the Lord and tried to get the rest of the people to stay focused on God as well. The Levites were able to live lives "set apart" so it seems God decided to set them apart. In verse 2 we read, "They shall have no inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance, as He promised them." They were called to keep the rest of the Jews consecrated before the Lord. So, I looked up the tribe of Levi and realized that Levi was actually the father of Jochebed. This really intrigued me because Jochebed is the mother of Moses, Aaron and Miriam. We know that Aaron was called to be the Chief Priest but I never realized that they were a pretty direct line from Levi. Jochebed was probably raised in a home truly devoted to God and raised her children the same way. We must remember that Moses was the baby sent away in the bulrushes when Pharoah commanded the baby boys to be thrown into the river. Then Pharoah's daughter ended up taking Moses in as her son. This means that Levi's grandson, Jacob's great-grandson, Isaac's great great-grandson and Abraham's great great great-grandson ended up living in the home of the Pharoah and was raised Egyptian. It's so interesting to think about the way God works. It makes me think of Joseph and how he was sold by his brothers and later thrown into jail which eventually led to being brought to the home and favor of the Pharoah. These are just examples of how God can work in bad situations. His plans are so good and so beautiful, even when we don't understand what He is doing. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and have been called according to His purpose."(Romans 8:28)
When I look back at my overweight life, I am thankful for the good things that God did in me because of the bad stuff I allowed to rule me for so long. I believe I am a more, compassionate person because I understand what it is to be looked down upon and judged. I tend to notice the unnoticeable yet have also always been a friend to all people. My sins were always out in the open and my struggles were in plain sight of man which has always been very humbling. I have not dealt with vanity because I have always felt I never had a reason to be vain. I wasn't considered the most desirable kind of girl so I didn't walk on a path full of bad relationships with guys. I know I could go on and on but I will just stop there and say that I am so thankful for the things got protected me from because of my sin issues. I know that I would not be the person I am today if I had not been overweight. He uses our bad choices and situations to shape us into the men and women He desires us to be.
The Levites were called to be Priests because God found them worthy. Their heritage was full of bad things being turned around and used for good which means they were still able to trust God even though things didn't always go their way. Are we these sort of people? Maybe we come from a ancestry of bad choices. Maybe we are the ones who have messed up. Will we allow God to use the unlovely areas of our lives to make us more lovely? Just like the Levites, He sees us worthy. Jesus makes us worthy. Will we choose to accept the great responsibility and privilege that comes with being a man or woman consecrated to God? Will we confidently embrace all of who we are and stop living in guilt or remorse? Today, let us throw off everything that hinders us from all the more that God wants to give us. We have a great calling and the only way we can fulfill our role is to remember where we've been but look forward in great expectation and anticipation of where we are going.
Father, thank You for using all things for the good. Forgive me for making so many bad choices but I am so grateful You still find away to get fruit out of the muck. Teach me how to learn from my past and become a woman devoted to finding MORE of you today and in the future. Amen.
Now Choose Life.
No comments:
Post a Comment