The AMI QT Devotionals from December 17 to 24 are provided by Pastor Yohan Lee of Remnant Church, New York City. Yohan graduated from University of Pennsylvania and Cairn University, where he studied theology. He is married to Mandie, and they have four adorable children.
Devotional Thoughts for Today
“Football Dads”
Genesis 30:19-20
And Leah conceived again, and she bore Jacob a sixth son. 20 Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good endowment; now my husband will honor me, because I have borne him six sons.” So she called his name Zebulun.
I live in a town where high school sports are pretty huge; and as a trickle down effect, youth sports seem to be more important than they should be. So in my son’s and daughter’s 1st and 2nd grade teams, we have our fair share of crazy dads (as well as some coaches) who takes their children’s games a little too seriously. As I’ve gotten a chance to know a few of these overly enthusiastic parents, a fairly common back story has emerged: for many of these parents, high school sports were a highlight of their life. I don’t mean to make these people sound sad—this is generally not the case—but I do think that they would like to relive the “glory days” through their children’s accomplishments on the athletic field.
When it comes to gauging our own success and happiness through our children, it’s not just football dads who are guilty: think about why your parents tell you they immigrated to the U.S. And consider your own heart’s motive as you push your kids to get the best grades or excel in music or sports. For whatever reason, it’s human nature to gauge our success based on the success of our children—that’s the nice way of putting it; the more direct—and slightly a meaner—way of putting it is that we use our kids to make us feel successful. And guess what, this is not a modern phenomenon. In today’s chapter, it’s clear that both Rachel and Leah used their kids— specifically the number of sons they had—to gauge their success as the main matriarch in Jacob’s household. It’s sad but true.
This morning, let me ask you this: how do you gauge success? Do you gauge it on how well your kids do in school or extracurriculars? If you’re not a parent, do you build success on your position at work or your bank account? In the end, whether we have kids or not, success is the same. Do you trust in God, and do you do your best to be faithful in all areas He has given you? If you can answer yes to both of those questions, my guess is that God deems you a success.
Prayer: Lord, give me faith to truly measure success by faithfulness to You. Let me not compare myself to others or use others to make me feel successful. Help me to care for only Your applause. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: 1 Corinthians 4
Lunch Break Study
Read Proverbs 3:1-8: My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, 2 for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you. 3 Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. 8 It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
Questions to Consider
- What are some keys to finding success in the sight of God?
- In verses 5-8, the writer gives some benefits of trusting and fearing the Lord; what are they?
- On a personal level, what does it mean to trust the Lord?
Notes
- The writer of Proverbs indicates that keeping God’s commandments (v. 1) and binding His love and faithfulness in our hearts (v. 3) will lead to success in God’s eyes.
- If we trust God and fear Him, He will keep our paths straight (v. 5) and heal and refresh us (v. 8).
- Personal application.
Evening Reflection
How do you define success? Is it truly based on faithfulness to the Lord and His will in your life, or, do you use other standards? What are your dreams and plans? Ask the Lord to speak into your heart on this matter.
One of my favorite social games is Scattergories. If you’ve never played, the premise is that at random, all players will get a category and a letter of the alphabet; and you have to come up with items that fit the category that starts with the letter. For example, if the category is “comic characters” and the letter is B, Batman would be an easy answer. But here’s the catch: you only get points for unique answers, so if other contestants used Batman, too, no one would get points from that answer. What makes the game fun is that if you come up with an “out of the box” type answer, you have to convince other players of its validity, and by “convince,” I mean argue. My wife hates playing Scattergories with me—she says that I cheat. Case in point: the last time we played, the category was “type of footwear” and the letter was F. I gave the answer, “Famous Footwear” (you get double points for double alliteration), which is footwear store vs. a specific footwear brand. Anyway, I argued passionately for that one, but ultimately got overruled by my collaborating, narrow-minded co-contestants. If you are the type of person who is good at grasping at straws and twisting reality, then this is your type of game.
My wife and I recently purchased our first home. I don’t know if it’s always like this, but I feel like our home buying process was not the most civil affair—the seller and I fought over everything, from the price of the house, to repairs, to appliances, etc. To make matters worse, during the final walk through on the day of closing, we noticed that this guy switched out the washing machine, claiming that the one that was supposed to come with the house broke. Who does this?!?! What a childishly crooked thing to do!!! I didn’t believe it then—and I still don’t— but in the end, I wasn’t going to let my family go homeless over a washing machine. So I just kind of seethed internally for a while.
I’m going to break one of the fundamental principles of hermeneutics for this morning’s devotional—the principle that if it’s not in the text, don’t make stuff up! That being said, am I the only one who has a hard time believing that Jacob didn’t realize that Laban had pulled the old bait and switch on him during his wedding night? Yes, I know they didn’t have electricity back then, but how dark was it in their tent? Pitch black—like 100 feet deep in a cave kind of darkness? I know times were different then, so I don’t expect Jacob to get all Song of Songs romantic, but didn’t he even say “Hi” to her that night or any kind of conversation beforehand? What kind of a “pig” doesn’t even talk to his wife on their wedding night? Without getting too graphic, wouldn’t you expect a bride who was about to consummate her wedding to at least take off her veil, and even if she didn’t, wouldn’t Jacob have been able to tell that this woman did not have strong eyes, that she clearly had “weak eyes”? What’s the point of mentioning her eyes (v. 17), if they don’t help you tell the difference between Leah and her sister?
When it comes to time, I think we all understand that old saying, “The days are long but the years are short.” When we look back, doesn’t it seem like your time in school, dating your wife, your kid’s childhood, your 20’s (30’s or 40’s), time you had with your parents, etc., just whizzed by? But when you look ahead, don’t things like finishing school, getting married, raising kids, retirement, seem like a never ending series of never ending days? This is why I don’t get how in v. 20, it says that Jacob’s love for Rachel made seven long years (2,555 days, not counting leap year) of labor feel like just a “few days.” When I was waiting to get married, there was only about a six month gap between my engagement and wedding—that time felt like forever to me! But perhaps Jacob—that heel-grasping deceiver—was more patient and more loving than I?
Today’s AMI Devotional QT is provided by Jasmin Izumikawa. She is a member of the Church of Southland and is currently a high school teacher. She has lived the miracle of healing through the prayers of her AMI church family through her battle with lymphoma.
There are times when everything looks very grim to me—so withered and dead that I have to remind myself what the garden looked like during the peak seasons. In the winter, we see very little growth, but to have a thriving garden in the spring and summer, it is necessary to wait with hope. When we see no bud of growth, we trust knowing what it will become, for a garden is built from hope. This empty lot of soil will be full of blue Hyacinth and yellow Ranunculus in the Spring, and in the warm summer, full of heirloom tomatoes and crisp cucumbers. In my waiting, that is what I hope for.
We are still facing the old power structures of the past—of powerful men using their positions to manipulate those who are vulnerable to do their bidding. This has been a story that has been perpetuated from generation to generation. It is the story of sin.
If you rushed through the verses above, take a moment to go back and read them once more (consider reading them aloud). What an amazing promise! We serve an awesome God who makes incredible promises to His people—promises of provision, prosperity, posterity, protection, and presence (His very presence with His people). What more could we ask for?
Today’s AMI QT Devotional is written by Jonathan Cho. Jonathan recently graduated from Emory University in 2017. He currently serves as an intern at Journey Church of Atlanta and specifically works with the college leaders of the church.
A friend once asked me, “Who did you make happy today? Why did you make them happy?” As I attempted a response, I realized it quickly became a list of who I want to please. When I got to the second question, I realized just how much their opinion of me shaped and defined my principles and values. I found myself stuck in the same cycle of the family in this passage.
“Build your ark, the flood is coming.” That’s what I constantly heard in prayer during junior year of college. Little did I know that my family doesn’t look much different from Isaac’s. I saw my family as a typical Chinese-American family where we all be independent, only talking when the topic was money or grades. It wasn’t great, but I was comfortable. Then, my mother called saying that my father was having an affair for two years. I was shaken. I had just raised my head above the flood waters of my depression and now this. I couldn’t understand what God’s plan was, but God showed me that He could redeem human failure and paint a glorious picture. It wasn’t ideal, but for the first time, I was able to talk to my parents honestly. I opened up to my mother and counseled her through the story of God’s faithfulness in my depression. I was upset with my father, but I saw that the brokenness he exhibited is the same depravity God saves all of us from.