The One God Loves

Proverbs 3:11-12 and Genesis 28-29.

Have you every wondered if God truly loved you?  Ever wondered how you KNOW that God loves you?  These passages reflect some interesting insights.  The Genesis passage tells how Jacob began his long journey of transformation.  Because of his trickery and deceit, he had to run for his life from his own brother, Esau.  In other words, some of his sins were catching up with him.  (Incidentally, they would chase him for several more years.)  The story of Jacob is fascinating.  It tells how God took a liar and a cheat and turned him into a prince (see Gen. 32:28).  Why did God do this?  Why did He lead this man across the desert and through danger?  Why didn't God just let the poor man pay for his sins and be done with it?  Why did God keep working with Jacob?  BECAUSE HE LOVED HIM!  God had chosen Jacob for grander purposes -- therefore He worked powerfully in him.  God would not let Jacob go.  Someone once said that whoever God will use mightily, He must also wound deeply.  We'll see later that after this process is over, Jacob carried a limp for the rest of his life. 

We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Rom. 8:37).  That does not, however, mean that we avoid any discipline from God.  It means that, in all the rough places of life, in all the huge challenges, in all the times God digs into our souls, in all these places, we are more than conquerors!!!

Proverbs states it succintly:  the one God loves, He disciplines.  He wants us to partake of His very own nature and to that end all things work.