What matters most?
Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.~ Genesis 25:34
In today’s scripture, we read about Esau trading away his birthright for a simple meal. In a moment of physical hunger, he undervalued something of eternal significance. His decision shows how easy it can be to give up God’s best for temporary satisfaction when feeling weary or desperate.
There have been times in my life when I was deeply discouraged and tired. One particular instant comes to mind when an opportunity came along that seemed to promise quick relief, but deep down I knew it was not from God. Even though I was tempted to take it just to ease my immediate discomfort, by God’s grace, I chose to wait and trust His timing. Looking back, I see how important that choice was, because the quick fix would have closed the door to the greater blessings God had in store for my life.
You may be facing a situation right now where you feel pressured to make a decision quickly. It might be in your finances, relationships, ministry, or personal life. The enemy will always try to get you to settle for less than God’s plan by magnifying your present need and minimizing the value of your spiritual inheritance. But like Esau’s birthright, God has given you promises, gifts, and a calling that are worth protecting.
Here are some ways to hold on to your spiritual inheritance instead of giving in to short-term comfort or relif:
- Identify areas where you feel pressured to compromise or rush into a decision.
- Ask God to give you His perspective on the long-term value of what He has entrusted to you.
- Make decisions through prayer and consultation with trusted, godly counsel.
- Strengthen your spirit through consistent time in God’s Word so you can resist short-term temptations.
- Practice gratitude for what you have now as you wait for God’s timing.
Today I want to encourage you to hold on to what truly matters. Do not trade your God-given calling, joy, peace and inheritance for something temporary. Your spiritual birthright in Christ Jesus is priceless and worth protecting. Trust Him to provide what you need in His perfect timing and know that what He has promised is far greater than any shortcut the world offers.
Today’s scripture reading: Genesis 25
1 Abraham married another wife, whose name was Keturah.
2 She gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.
3 Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s descendants were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites.
4 Midian’s sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These were all descendants of Abraham through Keturah.
5 Abraham gave everything he owned to his son Isaac.
6 But before he died, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them off to a land in the east, away from Isaac.
7 Abraham lived for 175 years,
8 and he died at a ripe old age, having lived a long and satisfying life. He breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death.
9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, near Mamre, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite.
10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the Hittites and where he had buried his wife Sarah.
11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who settled near Beer-lahai-roi in the Negev.
12 This is the account of the family of Ishmael, the son of Abraham through Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian servant.
13 Here is a list, by their names and clans, of Ishmael’s descendants: The oldest was Nebaioth, followed by Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,
14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa,
15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.
16 These twelve sons of Ishmael became the founders of twelve tribes named after them, listed according to the places they settled and camped.
17 Ishmael lived for 137 years. Then he breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death.
18 Ishmael’s descendants occupied the region from Havilah to Shur, which is east of Egypt in the direction of Asshur. There they lived in open hostility toward all their relatives.
19 This is the account of the family of Isaac, the son of Abraham.
20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean.
21 Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children. The Lord answered Isaac’s prayer, and Rebekah became pregnant with twins.
22 But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the Lord about it. “Why is this happening to me?” she asked.
23 And the Lord told her, “The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son.”
24 And when the time came to give birth, Rebekah discovered that she did indeed have twins!
25 The first one was very red at birth and covered with thick hair like a fur coat. So they named him Esau.
26 Then the other twin was born with his hand grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when the twins were born.
27 As the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament, preferring to stay at home.
28 Isaac loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry.
30 Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!” (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.”)
31 “All right,” Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.”
32 “Look, I’m dying of starvation!” said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?”
33 But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.” So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.
Journal:
- Write about a current decision or temptation you are facing.
- Ask yourself, “Is this choice protecting or compromising the spiritual inheritance God has given me?”
- Then pray for strength to choose what matters most.
The Daily Dose 