“But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn…When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head he was displeased” (Genesis 48:14, 17).

What a strange scene. Why would Jacob/Israel cross his arms while blessing the sons of Joseph? The firstborn always gets the lion share of the inheritance and the blessing. It’s the firstborn who carries the family lineage.

Jacob/Israel had believed that his son Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. That’s what all his other sons told him, when in actuality the other sons of Jacob/Israel wanted to kill Joseph because of their jealousy. But when a caravan of Midian traders came along, instead of killing Joseph, they sold him to be a slave.

Fast forward a few decades. Joseph is the second in command in all the land of Egypt. There is a famine in the land. The only place where there is food is in Egypt. Jacob/Israel sends his sons to Egypt to buy grain. The brothers who sold Joseph into slavery don’t recognize their brother Joseph who is now a ruler in Egypt only second to the Pharaoh. Long story short, Jacob/Israel is reunited with his lost son Joseph. And before Jacob/Israel dies, he blesses Joseph’s sons. But instead of blessing the firstborn, Jacob/Israel blesses the younger son. And this displeased Joseph very much.

You can read about it in Genesis 48.

So, why am I telling you all this? Because this is one of the clearest demonstrations of God’s grace and God’s providence. You see, the question we want to ask in situations like the one described above is to ask, “Why?”

Why did Jacob/Israel bless the younger son and not the firstborn?

You want to know why? There is no why! Jacob knowingly blessed the younger son.

Why? There is no why!
Why did God choose Israel? There is no why!
Why did God choose you? There is no why!
Why does God continue to forgive and bless repeat sinners like us? There is no why!

God simply does. That’s grace. That’s providence. If you’re God, you get to do stuff like that.

When it comes to God’s grace and God’s providence, there is no point in asking why. That’s the wrong question. The only thing that is proper in response to God’s grace and providence is gratitude. Give thanks!

Wow! This grace thing is truly amazing.

“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

I dare ya!

See if you can find a single passage in the Bible that says, “worry about it”, “stress over it”.

If you can, I owe you a Snickers bar.

But I know my Snickers bar is safe with me because you won’t find it in the Bible.

But look at the way we typically deal with problems. Yup. You guessed it. We worry and stress. What does worry and stress accomplish? Can worrying and stressing over things make anything different? Can worry and stress change the outcome in our favor?

Nope.

But there is something that can. There is something that can actually make a difference.

Pray.

Something worrying you? Pray.

Something got you stressing? Pray. 

The next time you want to worry about it or stress about it, pray. Give it to God. Every time you sense worry or stress raising its ugly head, pray to God instead.

I dare ya!

The next time you want to worry about it or stress about it, instead pray. Give it to God.

Pray.

I dare ya!

“Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He cam to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, LORD,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’ Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once and angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked around and there by his head was some break baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then he lay down again” (1 Kings 17:3-6).

Reflecting about this passage, Joy Clarkson writes:

One time in the Bible Elijah was like, “God, I am so mad! I want to die!” So God said, “Here’s some food. Why don’t you take a nap?”
So Elijah slept, ate, and decided things weren’t so bad.
Never underestimate the spiritual power of a nap and a snack.

I love that. Joy Clarkson is my kind of gal. I love a good snack and a good nap!

You see, we don’t make very good decisions when we are stressed, tired, and hungry. In fact, that’s a recipe for ensuring making terrible decisions. We can’t think straight when we are stressed, tired, or hungry. You combine all three? Gee! That’s disastrous decisions guaranteed.

Two take aways:

1. Get regular rest. Eat on a regular schedule. Take naps! Jesus napped. We should too!
2. When stressed, tired, hungry – NEVER EVER make life altering decisions. Instead, grab a snack and sleep on it.