From Deceivers to Believers

UV 1139/10,000 From Deceivers to Believers

Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I am with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.

Jeremiah 46 v 28


The Lord asks each of us not to be afraid of the future. We like Jacob are heel-catchers: we want to advance in our own lives, if need be by deception. Jacob started life as a deceiver but became in due course a believer in God. But the Lord is a heel-crusher- He crushes the mighty under His heel. But He will not crush us or punish us beyond measure. He will punish even the nations that have dealt unjustly with His servants. The Lord sustains us. Jacob’s dream of a two-way staircase leading up to heaven guarded by angels is a metaphor for our prayers and thoughts reaching the Lord and His replying by way of answers, blessings, counsel and help.

Though like Jacob we start our lives as heel-catchers serving our own self interest, the Lord has called us to be His faithful servants. He fulfils His purpose and plan for humanity through us. He assures us that we need not feel any guilt about the past, anxiety about the future or be stressed about the present as He is with us. All who He is –His might, love, power, majesty, grace, justice, generousity, kindness, mercy, favour are with us. He is waiting to manifest His presence and His blessings in our lives.

The Lord is our shield, our refuge, our comfort, our fortress, our defence. He strengthens us. He fights on our behalf. He will not fail, forsake or leave us till the end of the world and even beyond. Every other person and source of strength will fail us at some point in our lives. But the Lord is not setting us up for disappointment or regret. He will not spoil or pamper us to our detriment. Even when He chastises us, it is for our own good so that we are not condemned. He does it to purge, refine, perfect and polish us. Hidden in our nature are elements of deception of our old lives that need to be surgically removed. The troubles in our lives are meant not as full stops but as punctuation marks like commas, exclamation marks and so on. In the end we will experience closure and victory and thank God for the troubles we went through that opened our eyes and taught us to be patient, wise, humble and faithful. We have an absolute sense of peace and security and no one can make us afraid for the “ Great I Am is with us.”


Prateep V Philip