What are you waiting for?
by Pastor Mark Gierus
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When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, ‘Why do you just keep looking at each other?’ (Genesis 42:1).
Read Genesis 42:1–23
You may have heard before that a ship is hard to steer if it is not moving. Well, it is the same with us. Sometimes in life, we can find ourselves not really moving. We get bogged down in so many things that we end up coming to a standstill. Then, we can find ourselves complaining to God that he does nothing to help us. Other times, we might feel like we are doing a lot, yet we are not moving – just looking at each other.
All this seems logical at first, just as in our own lives. Jacob learns there is grain in Egypt, so he sends his 10 sons, keeping Benjamin at home with him. Yet, God is working in this simple instruction for survival to buy grain to eat in their time of need. Not just to provide for them but to unite the brothers again and bring peace and reconciliation. The brothers had sold Joseph years before into slavery, and now they would meet Joseph, not recognising him as he was now the governor of the land. But God’s plan was about bringing peace, uniting Joseph’s family again and displaying his glory, power and love.
We might think that some of our logical decisions (like going and buying some food) do not have much to do with God. But, sometimes, the people you meet along the way are put there by God to shape you for his purpose. When you trust that God is always at work in your life, you start to move, and God guides and steers you for his work. God cares about and loves you. When you feel unsure about what to do, just start the journey with God, and he will make your path straight. When you look back, you will see the plans he had for you.
Dear God, we sometimes feel like we are just not going anywhere. Please help us take the first steps of the way you have shown us in all things. Let us walk by faith in you, trusting that you have plans for us for your good purpose. Show us day by day through your holy word that you are with us always and will never leave us. Let us give thanks always, especially when we see how things work out in our lives, those things that you planned before we even took our first breath. Amen.
Pastor Mark Gierus currently serves as a Lutheran pastor in Redland Bay, Alberton and Woongoolba in Queensland. He has three beautiful girls aged 8, 11 and 21, and he enjoys hiking with them, going to the beach, singing and jamming, looking after their pets as a family and going on road trips. Mark prays that God will continue to bless you as you grow in him and come to know him more and more through his life-giving eternal word.
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