Here I Am

 DEVOTION

GENESIS

HERE I AM

Gen 31:10-18

10 "In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. 11 The angel of God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob.' I answered, 'Here I am.' 12 And he said, 'Look up and see that all the male goats mating with the flock are streaked, speckled or spotted, for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. 13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.'" 4 Then Rachel and Leah replied, "Do we still have any share in the inheritance of our father's estate? 15 Does he not regard us as foreigners? Not only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us. 16 Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you." 17 Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels, 18 and he drove all his livestock ahead of him, along with all the goods he had accumulated in Paddan Aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

NIV

Jacob tells his wives, Rachel and Leah, everything the LORD told him, recounting how he came to have so many speckled, spotted, and streaked sheep and goats. One statement he made about how he knew what to do is worth considering. When he had a dream, and the angel of the LORD called his name, he answered, "Here I am.” We could focus on the fact that both Rachel and Leah were very content to leave their father's household and travel with their Husband to a land they did not know. Metaphorically, this could represent us, as the bride of Christ, leaving all we once knew behind to follow our husband where he leads us. As Rachel and Leah felt their father regarded them as foreigners, not only selling them but then using what was paid for them, that would be like how we should feel about the world. We are foreigners here, and the world, had we stayed there, would have sold us to Satan and used up all we could have had, mainly, life. However, though this truth is great and gives us much to think about, the main point we must always remember is to say to the Lord, “I am here.” We all had to say that at some time in our lives, when the Holy Spirit convicted our hearts of our need to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. At that exact time, we may not have realized we became the bride of Christ, but we had to hear his call and answer, “Here I am.” However, that was just the beginning of our journey with Jesus. He has called us to follow him, and he has called each of us to a task. He has called each of us to follow his leading. Our only correct response is always, "Here I am."