our daily bread
Dexu Xia
Blessing in the Mess
He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6
I got myself into this mess, so I’d better get myself out, I sometimes find myself thinking. Although I believe in a God of grace, I’m still prone to act as if His help is available only when I deserve it.
God’s first encounter with Jacob is a beautiful illustration of how untrue this is.
Jacob had spent a lifetime trying to alter his destiny. He’d been born second at a time when firstborn sons typically received their father’s blessing—believed to guarantee future prosperity.
So Jacob decided to do whatever it would take to get his father’s blessing anyway. Eventually, he succeeded—through deceit—obtaining the blessing intended for his brother (Genesis 27:19–29).
But the price was a divided family, as Jacob fled from his furious brother (vv. 41–43). As night descended (28:11), Jacob must have felt as far from a life of blessing as ever.
But it was there, leaving behind a trail of deception, that Jacob met God. God showed him he didn’t need desperate schemes to be blessed; he already was. His destiny—a purpose far greater than material prosperity (v. 14)—was held securely by the One who would never leave him (v. 15).
It was a lesson Jacob would spend his whole life learning.
And so will we. No matter how many regrets we carry or how distant God seems, He is still there—gently guiding us out of our mess into His blessing.
Lord, so often we feel trapped by our mistakes, thinking there’s no future left for us. Remind us that you are the God of Jacob, the God who will never give up on Your purposes for us.
God never gives up on His love and purposes for our lives.
祂仍然赐福
那在你们心里动了善工的，必成全这工，直到耶稣基督的日子。-腓立比书1章6节
有时我会这样想：事情是我搞砸的，所以我需要自己解决。虽然我相信上帝满有恩典，却仍然认为只有在我配得的时候，才能得到上帝的帮助。
其实我这样的想法是错误的，从上帝和雅各的第一次相遇便可知道。在雅各的时代，长子才能得到父亲特别的祝福，而人们相信这能保证未来繁荣昌盛。因雅各排行第二，所以他极力尝试扭转自己的命运。
于是，雅各不惜一切代价，争取他父亲的祝福。最后，他成功地骗取了原属于他哥哥的祝福（创世记27章19-29节）。
但这代价却是家庭分裂，雅各不得不逃离大发雷霆的哥哥（41-43节）。随着夜晚降临（28章11节），雅各一定感到自己根本没有蒙福。
纵然雅各一再欺骗，但就在那里，他遇见了上帝。上帝让他明白，他无须千方百计地夺取祝福，因他早已蒙福。上帝告诉雅各，他的一生有个超越物质丰富的目的（14节），并且上帝永远不会离弃他，也必会成就这应许（15节）。
这是雅各和我们一生都要学习的功课。无论我们有多少遗憾或感觉上帝看似甚远，但祂仍然与我们同在。即使我们将事情搞砸了，祂仍能温柔地引导我们得到祂的赐福。
主啊，我们陷入自己造成的错误中，觉得没有未来。
让我们记得祢是雅各的上帝，
也是永不放弃我们的上帝。