Heralds Digest

  “But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭39:21‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Ordinarily, prison is prison; but for Joseph and the evidence of the abiding presence of his God, prison is palace. Whether in the prison or in the palace, the common denominator for prosperity in life is the presence of the Lord in all the affairs of His beloved. Unfortunately, when we are pressured to seek favour from man and not God, prison experiences would be conceived with absolute disregard of its palace potentials. Whereas, those who have found grace from God are ready bundles of His palace favour, even in all their prison experiences. Therefore, it is the presence of the Lord in the believer's affairs, neither the prestige of the palace nor the perils in the prison, that makes the indefatigable favour in life.

  “Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭37:20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The misconception between a dream and a desire in life is always the confusion about the identity of the dream designer. When Joseph had a dream, he told it freely because the contents weren’t his desires. They were absolutely revealed to him by the designer without his consent. Therefore, he was equally as confused about the implications of the dreams as his audience. Unfortunately, his brothers hated him for what he couldn’t make go away, turning themselves to destiny destroyers. Fast forward, Joseph achieved his God-given destiny because he followed the dream designer, instead of focussing on the activities of the destiny destroyers in his life. It is not always news that we are surrounded in life by passions that consistently echo “ Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into ...

  “Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭35:1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The Shechem experience for Jacob has been a great unsettling and humiliating disappointment. Although this experience represents a typical example of instability and insecurity that comes with life’s experiences, it often provides access to a Bethel experience for those who are sensitive to God’s intervention. Unfortunately, many believers have a distasteful disposition to their dwindling dwellings in Shechem, and a complete closure to the possibility of God’s call to “ Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there ”. But all wayfaring pilgrims have a lot to learn from Jacob’s Shechem experience and his inevitable dwindling dwellings. Apart from being sensitive to God’s call, he responded promptly by mobilizing his household to “ Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, ...

  “Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭32:24-25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Jacob has been a professional wrestler from the womb. And like many professional and competitive struggles for family, career, business, and ministerial breakthrough in life, Jacob as had a full resume of wrestling with people in his life, including Esau and Laban. But for the privileged few who have discovered the space where man must be left alone with God, they understand why Jacob was here left alone to engage in a witted wrestling. Previously, Jacob had learnt only how to struggle for carnal prospecting, possessions and prosperity; and he got more than enough of earthly materials without the confidence to appease Esau; needless to mention the much-desirable reconciliation with God. At the witted wrestling i...

  “Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night.”” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭31:42‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ There is no doubt that Laban’s house and Panda Aram had been a refuge for Jacob from the wrath of Esau in the past 20 years. But at last he stole away at his frustration of refuge, turned to a restraining reserve. In fairness to all, the house of Laban had provided more than a refuge to Jacob within these serving years, including wives, children, and flocks. He got to Laban apparently empty; and he had become filled, fulfilled, and flourished. Unfortunately, avoidable conflict of interests are now setting a discordant tune to the sense of reliability on the refuge status of the house of  Laban. Why? God was the reliable refuge of Jacob all these years; and He sets the company of providers to all beneficiaries whose confidence...

  “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.” Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭28:15-16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ Everyone knew that Jacob’s escape from Beersheba to Padan Aram was not just for a wife. He had hurriedly escaped a potent domestic violence and death threat from Esau because of his account of cheating. And without the divine encounter at Bethel, no one needs a soothsayer to predict that Jacob has no plan to return to Beersheba, at least within the active life of Esau. But when the Lord said “ I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land” , it became clear that Jacob had just been transferred Abrahamic covenant that Canaan is his permanent place of inheritance and the land of promise. Beyond the determination of the diverse workplaces and differe...

  “And he moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.”” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭26:22‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ The waiting room for the Lord’s righteous room is equipped with transient discouraging or discomforting appliances. While some of these appliances can readily blow hot air when cold air is desirable, the righteous must be ready to stay connected and comforted by the presence of the Lord. Why? The waiting room of the Lord always connects all righteous minds with the Lord’s righteous room unfailingly. By accommodating quarrels from strategic appliances in the waiting room, Isaac later got Rehoboth and many other fulfillment of God’s promises with the testimony “ For now the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land” . Unfortunately, like his son Jacob who opted for the rough room to deceitfully collect Esau’s blessing, many bel...