THE LORD SPOKE (January 18)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Genesis 43-44

He was sure they’d come back. But why did they delay so long? Joseph must have arranged his office so he could easily glance out the window up the long road to Canaan. Day after day he watched the horizon for a sign of their return.

They had other thoughts. How could they face this capricious man? What might he demand next time? Well-armed with gifts (Gen. 43:11) such as they had, they hoped to slip into Egypt and back out as soon as possible. Somehow they had to guard Benjamin and make sure to get him back to Dad. Dad’s health depended on it.

It was strange how the royal steward hardly paid attention to their explanations about the payments for the last shipment. Why would he be talking about God putting “treasure in their sacks”? This whole place was strange - the sooner out the better. And why all those questions? Did he have agents in Canaan checking up on them? He seemed to know too much about them already.

Oh, why did he have to invite them to dinner? Did all the others who came to buy in Egypt get such an invitation? This was not looking good. It seems nothing came of it except for that awkward scene when he choked up and left the room.

Finally, with a collective sigh of relief, all eleven were on the road and back home again. Their only thought at this point was to put some miles between them and the foreignness of Egypt. They had the grain they needed. In just a few days’ time they’d be back home and all would be well. But then, catastrophe of catastrophes. The steward’s agents detained them. With the donkeys in reverse, the film started running backwards.

Have you been there before? Your best efforts to reorganize your life and get things back on keel seem to fall apart. Instead of getting better, it only gets worse. Even a temporary lull is shattered by yet another blow. What can you do?

1. Turn back to God. There is no other place to turn and if you miss this, life really is hopeless.
2. Confide in Him alone. Tell Him so. And then don’t go back on your word. Give up! Cast all your care upon the Lord - for He careth for you (I Pet. 5:7).
3. Get your strength for each day from His Word. Feed on His Word. Let it sustain you. Use it as your constant crutch and your permanent prop.

New Testament: Matthew 18

picayune (pi-kē-yün) = petty, small-minded, trivial

How else could you define the disciples’ talk about who was “greatest in the kingdom”? Especially when you consider that much of it came after Jesus’ teaching here in Matthew 18. They should have known better. It was just plain picayunish of them.

So, how can you explain our tendencies in the same direction? Maybe we manage to keep it under wraps most of the time but aren’t we really pretty impressed with ourselves? It’s just too easy to think of yourself more highly than you ought. Paul assured the Corinthians “that we are [not] sufficient of ourselves to think anything of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God...” (II Cor. 3:5).

Jesus’ instruction was to think of ourselves as children (Mat. 18:3-4). They know when they can’t do something. They might even try to fly or something foolish like that but it usually only takes one bad landing to help them realize that it’s beyond them. How foolish we must look to God when we try to fly without Him. It is a humbling experience to be observed flapping your wings with both feet firmly planted on the ground. Especially when you’ve tried it already many times before - even with Him watching.

So let us learn the lesson here. The whole chapter emphasizes our utter dependence upon God. It’s about time we stop flapping our wings...and our tongues.