25 Days of Advent: Forged for our Hope – Day 21

As the congregation bowed their heads, the worship leader stood at the front of the stage to lead everyone in prayer. As he began lifting up eloquent praise, he tripped over a few of his words allowing a small laugh to escape his lips. But, though he stumbled, he finished his prayer and it was heartfelt and pure and truly glorified the one true King whom he serves. He allowed God to use his imperfect nature to cast a light upon Christ’s perfect character.

In the scriptures we trace Christ’s lineage to the Patriarch’s of the Old Testament. There we find Jacob, son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham whom God established His covenant with the Israelites. Through the covenant with Abraham God continued to pour His blessing into the lives of Isaac, Jacob, and all those who descended from Jacob’s lineage such as Jacob’s sons who became the leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Numbers 24:17, “I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near.
A star will come out of Jacob;
a scepter will rise out of Israel.
He will crush the foreheads of Moab,
the skulls of all the people of Sheth.

But Jacob was not a perfect man for he was known as a schemer, liar, and manipulator. This legacy began at his very own birth as his name means ‘deceiver’. He was born a twin, coming forth from his mother Rebekah’s womb holding on to the heel of his brother Esau. Later in his life, he and his mother would cheat Esau from his rightful inheritance as the firstborn son of the family.

Jacob’s life and legacy is deep and rich as he eventually matured in his faith growing more and more dependant on God. Jacob finally gave up control of his life and God renamed him “Israel” the meaning of which is “struggles with God”. How fitting for this man and the lineage of people who would follow after him.

The promise was that the coming Messiah would come from the lineage of Jacob, and Christ fulfilled this prophesy hailing from the tribe of Judah:

Matthew 1:2, Abraham was the father of Isaac,
Isaac the father of Jacob,
Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

We are forged for our hope when we, like Jacob, can let go of the control of our lives maturing in our faith. The forging requires us to have a greater dependancy upon Christ and not ourselves, our career, our things, or even others. Only God.

The Lord greatly desires for Christ’s perfection to be glorified through His imperfect people. If we were perfect, able to live life without times of strife or trouble, then we would not need a Saviour. Like God redeemed Jacob, blessing not only him but his lineage, we have have been given the gift of experiencing the same blessings through Christ.

We belong to His tribe, forged for His purposes, allowing our imperfect lives to glorify His perfect plans.

Father, use my imperfection to glorify your throne, allowing others to see you at work within me. I can do nothing of lasting value for your kingdom by my own hands but by the power of Christ. Humble my heart to do your good works bringing blessing to those who seek your name. In Jesus name, amen.

Don’t forget to subscribe to my blog to receive news posts right in your email the instant they are posted on the site. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TODAY!