after this, joseph was told, “behold, your father is ill.” so he took with him his two sons, manasseh and ephraim. and it was told to jacob, “your son joseph has come to you.” then israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. and jacob said to joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at luz in the land of canaan and blessed me, and said to me, ‘behold, i will make you fruitful and multiply you, and i will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you for an everlasting possession.’
[genesis 48:1-4]
at the end of his life, jacob remembers what God had promised him
we have seen jacob make many mistakes, yet at the end of his life, he remembers what God promised him, and passes that on to joseph. what will you remember at the end of your life? what has God done for you and said to you that will stick in your heart until the end?
much of jacob’s life we see him worrying and living in sorrow. what would jacob’s life, his demeanor have looked like if he had lived life daily in remembrance of what God had promised him? we are more prone to forget than we think. this morning as i write this devotional i spent worrying. what would my morning have looked like if instead i had remembered what God has done, in my life as well as on the cross? what would it have looked like if i remembered what he has told me, in his word as well as well as outside of it? we must remember, but not just in the end—let’s remember today. every good gift comes from God, so let’s live today remembering the good things he has done for us and said to us. the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever—of whom shall i be afraid?
Lord, forgive us for our short memory; forgive us for so quickly forgetting what you have done for us, and what you have said to us. now remind us of your goodness and your provision, and may it give us the peace and endurance to serve you as purchased sons and daughters of the King. You have been so good to us; help us to live lives in remembrance—as memorials to your sacrifice.
~ stephen hall