January 1
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. — Isaiah 55:9
Scripture reading: Genesis 28:10–22
Looking back on our spiritual journeys, we will see that we have held on to our own way too much of the time. When we come to the end of ourselves, God can begin to take control. The Scripture asks, “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?” (Amos 3:3). We cannot enter into the profound truths of God until we relinquish control, for “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption” (1 Corinthians 15:50).
Jacob‘s name means “supplanter.” When Jacob came to the end of his plans, God had a better plan. How slow we are to see that there is a better way.
The glory is never so wonderful as when we realize our helplessness, throw down our sword, and surrender our authority to God. Jacob was a diligent worker, and he would go through any hardship if he could have his own way. In numerous situations, he had his way; all the while, he was ignorant of how gloriously God had preserved him from calamity.
God has a plan beyond anything that we have ever known. He has a plan for every individual life, and if we have any other plan in view, we miss the grandest plan of all. Nothing in the past is equal to the present, and nothing in the present can equal the things of tomorrow. Tomorrow should be so filled with holy expectations that we will be living flames for Him. God never intended His people to be ordinary or commonplace. His intentions were that they should be on fire for Him, conscious of His divine power, realizing the glory of the Cross that foreshadows the crown.
Jacob and his mother had a plan to secure the birthright and the blessing, but God planned the ladder and the angels. Isaac, Jacob‘s father, agreed that Jacob should go “to Padan Aram, to the house of Bethuel [his] mother‟s father” (Genesis 28:2). On his way there, Jacob rested his head on a stone. In his dream, he saw a “ladder…and its top reached to heaven” (v. 12). Above the ladder, Jacob saw God and heard Him say, “The land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants” (v. 13). He also heard God tell him, “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” (v. 15). What a good thing for Jacob that in the middle of carrying out his own plan, God found him at the right place. The trickery to obtain the birthright had not been the honorable thing to do, but here at Bethel, he found that God was with him.
Many things may happen in our lives, but when the veil is lifted and we see the glory of God, His tender compassion covers us all the time. How wonderful to be where God is. Jacob experienced twenty-one years of wandering, fighting, and struggling. Listen to his conversation with his wives: “Your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times, but God did not allow him to hurt me” (Genesis 31:7). To his father-in-law, Jacob said,
Unless the God of my father…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. (Genesis 31:42)
There is a way that God establishes. In our human planning, we may experience blessings of a kind, but we also undergo trials, hardships, and barrenness that God would have kept from us if we had followed His way. I realize through the anointing of the Holy Spirit that there is a freshness, a glow, a security in God where you can know that God is with you all the time. There is a place to reach where all that God has for us can flow through us to a needy world all the time.
Thought for today: There is a good; there is a better; but God has a best, a higher standard for us than we have yet attained. It is a better thing if it is God‘s plan and not ours.
上帝的计划是最好的
1月1日
因为天怎样高过地，照样，我的道路高过你们的道路，我的意念高过你们的意念。——以赛亚书 55:9
圣经阅读：创世记 28:10–22
回顾我们的属灵旅程，我们会发现自己很多时候过于坚持自己的方式。当我们走到自我尽头时，神才能开始掌控。圣经问道：“二人若不同心，岂能同行呢？”（阿摩司书 3:3）。在我们放手掌控之前，我们无法进入神深奥的真理，因为“血气不能承受神的国，腐朽的也不能承受不朽的”（哥林多前书 15:50）。
雅各的名字意思是“取代者”。当雅各的计划走到尽头时，神有了更好的计划。我们看到有更好的方法总是如此迟钝。
荣耀从未如此美妙，直到我们意识到自己的无助，放下我们的剑，并将我们的权柄交给上帝。雅各是一个勤奋的工人，如果能够随心所欲，他愿意经历任何困难。在许多情况下，他如愿以偿；然而，他却没有意识到上帝是多么荣耀地保护他免遭灾难。
上帝有一个超越我们所知的一切的计划。他为每个人的生命都有一个计划，如果我们心中有其他计划，我们就会错过最伟大的计划。过去的任何事物都无法与现在相比，而现在的任何事物也无法与明天的事物相比。明天应该充满圣洁的期待，以至于我们会成为为祂燃烧的火焰。上帝从未打算让祂的子民平凡或普通。祂的意图是让他们为祂燃烧，意识到祂的神圣力量，领会预示王冠的十字架的荣耀。
雅各和他的母亲有一个计划来获得长子名分和祝福，但神安排了梯子和天使。雅各的父亲以撒同意雅各去“巴旦亚兰，去他母亲父亲比土利的家”（创世记 28:2）。在去那里的路上，雅各用一块石头枕头休息。在梦中，他看见一“梯子……顶通天”（12节）。在梯子上，雅各看见神，并听到他说：“你所躺卧之地，我要赐给你和你的后裔”（13节）。他还听到神对他说：“我必与你同在，保护你，无论你往哪里去，并要领你回到这地；我必不离弃你”（15节）。对于雅各来说，真是幸运，在执行自己计划的过程中，神在适当的地方发现了他。通过诡计来获取长子名分并不是光荣的行为，但在伯特利，他发现神与他同在。
我们生活中可能会发生许多事情，但当面纱被揭开，我们看到神的荣耀时，祂温柔的怜悯会一直覆盖着我们。能够在神所在的地方是多么美好啊。雅各经历了二十一年的漂泊、争斗和挣扎。听听他与妻子的对话：“你们的父亲欺骗了我，改变了我的工价十次，但神没有让他伤害我”（创世记 31:7）。雅各对岳父说，
若不是我父的神与我同在，恐怕现在你已经空手打发我走了。神看见了我的艰难和我手中的劳苦。（创世纪 31:42）
神设立了一条道路。在我们的人类计划中，我们可能会经历某种祝福，但我们也会遭遇试炼、艰难和荒凉，这些本是如果我们遵循神的道路，神本可以使我们免于经历的。我通过圣灵的恩膏意识到，在神里面有一种新鲜感、一种光彩、一种安全感，在那里你可以知道神时时刻刻与你同在。存在一个境地，在那里神为我们准备的一切可以持续不断地通过我们流向有需要的世界。
今日思考：有好的；有更好的；但上帝有最好的，对我们的标准比我们目前达到的更高。如果是上帝的计划而不是我们的，那将是更好的事情。
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