Do unto others, cause what goes around...comes around!

The following three paragraphs are from the One Year Bible Daily Devotional that I read through my church website at http://www.churchofthehighlands.com/bible/

"Poor Jacob thought his trickery of his father had gone unnoticed. He forgot that God was watching everything and everybody-including him! Someone said, "You may get by, but you won't get away!" Little did Jacob know that God would discipline him by preparing someone even trickier than he to enter his life. "My child, don't ignore it when the Lord disciplines you, and don't be discouraged when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves. . . ."(Proverbs 3:11-12).

For seven long years Jacob served Laban for his daughter Rachel. Then, on the wedding night, Laban tricked him into marrying Leah. It is interesting that Jacob deceived his father in a tent, and later he himself was deceived in a tent! God will discipline you with the exact process you used on someone else. God loved Jacob and knew that until he met a superior deceiver, he would be tricking, deceiving, and supplanting for the rest of his life.

Do not despise the Lord's work in your life. He loves you, and His discipline will yield "a quiet harvest of right living" (Hebrews 12:11)."


WOW! I forget the wonderful lessons that the Bible lays out for us sometimes. I always catch myself telling my kids..."I'm not sure where, but it does say in the Bible that..." I wish that I were more of a bible scholar that knew exactly where everything was and could quote it exactly, but I'm not. I'm just an average girl that knows the difference between right and wrong and knows it's right and wrong cause it's in the bible...somewhere. :)

ANYWAY, I love the story of Jacob and all of the struggles that he goes through in life. MOST if not all of those struggles are caused because of his own stupid self...I can relate to that. :) I may not do some of the horrible things that Jacob did like stealing his brothers birthright, but I do cause myself lots of torment by making poor decisions. Especially with my finances. YES, I am the coupon queen and I do know how to be VERY thrifty...but we've already covered the fact that I lack DISCIPLINE in my life (UGH! this is becoming a theme for me, Lord what are you trying to teach me?) So, I get off to a good start and then get sidetracked and lose focus.

TOTAL SIDENOTE- my husband and I have fallen in love with the tv show "THE MIDDLE". If you haven't watched it, it is hysterical! We can relate to the family in the show because they remind us so much of ourselves. SO, on last night's episode, the mom purchased a 3 ounce jar of miracle eye cream for $200! She thought it said $20 when she signed the credit card slip. She was HORRIFIED when she realized her mistake and had to confess it to her husband. He was calm about it and said he would just have to pick up another shift at work to pay for the mistake...then he gave her the silent treatment. When she finally got him to talk to her, he confessed that his silence wasn't anger at her, but anger at their place in life. He was frustrated that a $200 mistake sent them into financial ruin at their stage in life (early 40's). Ummm....hello, that is my life. :) An unexpected bill or expense can send our finances into a TAILSPIN! That is NOT where I thought I would be when I was forty! BUT, the mom pointed out to her husband the fact that the amount that used to send them into financial panic mode was $20 and that they had come a long way since that time.

MORAL of this LONG story....I think sometimes we get so fixated on our future plans that we get bogged down in the frustrations of "why am I still stuck here?" Imagine if Jacob had done that! Imagine if he had given up after Laban tricked him into marrying Leah instead of Rachel - his dream. He TOTALLY got what he deserved when he was tricked into marrying Leah instead of Rachel. Even so, he could have gotten discouraged and just thrown his hands up in the air and said "forget it!". But he didn't. He kept pursuing his promise of blessings and he worked hard and eventually he was rewarded...and so were we. God blessed Jacob, the father of many nations.

So how does this apply to me? How does this all tie together? What am I supposed to learn from this?

Be wise in the decisions you make in life because what goes around comes around, BUT don't get discouraged in the midst of the consequences of your previous actions because God has a bigger and better plan for you than you can EVER imagine. :)