Genesis 11

God know how to scatter and build

_{But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building. ~ Genesis 11:5}

Are you someone who likes to have life all figured out? Do you set clear goals and map out step-by-step plans to reach them? Maybe those goals involve your career, ministry, team achievements, or even family connections. I remember a time in my life when I had everything carefully laid out. My plans, my timing, even my ministry vision. It felt safe and structured, and I was confident I knew exactly what God wanted from me. But then things began to shift. Opportunities changed, relationships moved in unexpected directions, and doors I thought would stay open began to close. It felt like I was being scattered.

Genesis 11 tells the story of the Tower of Babel. The people had one language, one location, and one goal.  That goal was to build something great for themselves. But their unity was rooted in pride, not God’s purpose. So, God stepped in, confused their language, and scattered them across the earth. What may have seemed like disruption was actually divine redirection. God wasn’t trying to ruin their progress, He was setting the stage for His larger plan to unfold across generations and to replenish the earth.

This speaks to us today. Maybe you’re in a place where your plans aren’t working out, or life has taken a direction you didn’t expect. It’s easy to feel like things are falling apart, but sometimes God allows a scattering to bring about a greater purpose. His goal is never just to disrupt, but to build something deeper, something stronger and even something eternal.

Here are some ways you can breakthrough in your scattered time:

• Surrender your plans to God in prayer and ask Him to take the lead.
• When something shifts, instead of getting frustrated, ask, “Lord, what are You doing in this?”
• Write down the areas where you feel scattered and pray over them daily.
• Stay open to new directions or people God brings into your life during seasons of change.
• Invite God into your plans regularly and listen for His guidance, even if it challenges your comfort zone.

Today I want to encourage you to trust the hands that scatter because they are the same hands that build. You may not understand why things look different from what you expected, but God does. His vision for your life is greater than any tower you could build on your own. When He interrupts your plans, it’s because He’s moving you closer to His promise. Don’t be discouraged by the shifts, instead step into them with courage, knowing God is leading the way.

Today’s scripture reading: Genesis 11

1 At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words.

2 As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there.

3 They began saying to each other, “Let’s make bricks and harden them with fire.” (In this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used for mortar.)

4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”

5 But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building.

6 “Look!” he said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!

7 Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.”

8 In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city.

9 That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way he scattered them all over the world.

10 This is the account of Shem’s family. Two years after the great flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad.

11 After the birth of Arphaxad, Shem lived another 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

12 When Arphaxad was 35 years old, he became the father of Shelah.

13 After the birth of Shelah, Arphaxad lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

14 When Shelah was 30 years old, he became the father of Eber.

15 After the birth of Eber, Shelah lived another 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

16 When Eber was 34 years old, he became the father of Peleg.

17 After the birth of Peleg, Eber lived another 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

18 When Peleg was 30 years old, he became the father of Reu.

19 After the birth of Reu, Peleg lived another 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

20 When Reu was 32 years old, he became the father of Serug.

21 After the birth of Serug, Reu lived another 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

22 When Serug was 30 years old, he became the father of Nahor.

23 After the birth of Nahor, Serug lived another 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24 When Nahor was 29 years old, he became the father of Terah.

25 After the birth of Terah, Nahor lived another 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

26 After Terah was 70 years old, he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 This is the account of Terah’s family. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot.

28 But Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, the land of his birth, while his father, Terah, was still living.

29 Meanwhile, Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah. (Milcah and her sister Iscah were daughters of Nahor’s brother Haran.)

30 But Sarai was unable to become pregnant and had no children.

31 One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abram’s wife), and his grandson Lot (his son Haran’s child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans. He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there.

32 Terah lived for 205 years and died while still in Haran.

Journal:

• Where in my life have I felt things fall apart or shift unexpectedly?
• How might God be using those changes to move me toward His greater plan?