The twelve tribes of Israel are conceived in sin, competition, oppression (Bilhah and Zilpah are victims of some very peculiar sexual sins here), fornication and desperation. Everywhere you look in this storyline there is human weakness and wickedness and yet it is all bound together in the gracious faithfulness of a covenant keeping God. Only God could bring something beautiful out of all of this, and He does! It is amazing to consider that for future generations, God was happy to be named as the God of Jacob! That isn't a testament to the faithfulness of Jacob, but it is God showing His people that He stays faithful to even the most wayward of sons.

People are now locked away with the demons and temptations that don't respect social distancing. I am saddened to hear of and see the impact that is having on people who are tired of fighting those demons and who ordinarily used the warm light of community as a place to temporarily escape them. Now, they live with us, all the time, and we cannot leave.

What is important though, is what we watch for while we wait. Our belief will be determined by our beholding.  Our faith will be fueled by the object of our focus. Where we look will determine how well we last.

Much like David, I know what it feels like to wait for the Lord. His timing and mine don’t seem to work off the same clock and there have been long seasons in my life when I have wondered what He was up to, or if He was even still there. Much like David, I can testify that He always answers, and He always pulls me up out of the mud and mire that I have gotten myself into.