Genesis 46 + Psalm 38

I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again, and Joseph's hand shall close your eyes.

Genesis 46:3-4

For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

Psalm 38:4

I am feeble and crushed; I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

Psalm 38:8

The verses from Genesis 46 and Psalm 38 are all in relation to our own fear and our own sin holding us back from glorifying God. It is important that we feel the weight of fear and guilt and shame and sin, because God has a wrath against these things. These feelings are built into us for guidance. They have a purpose, but we cannot allow them to control the direction that we take. Jacob hears from God to not be afraid and to go to Egypt, so Jacob listens and follows Him. What if Jacob had denied God here because of his fear? We saw what happened when Eve denied God because of her fear. This leads to the fall. The way that we feel should be a guidance, but it should not be what we rely on for direction. We should assess where God is calling us and move in that direction, because sometimes God will require us to be challenged. He will require us to be strong.

In the Psalms, we hear David crying out about how his sin has led to a lot of troubles in his life. We see in the Bible that a lot of sin has to do with our selfishness, our pride, and our feelings. We see here that that does not lead David to a good place. We see that it leads him to a place of heavy burden, a place where his heart is under attack, a place where he is in pain, and a place where he is led to rely on God. But imagine if we just started down the path of relying on God before our sins become too heavy of a burden.

These verses remind me of my own life, and of how the times when I have had the most struggle are the times when I am relying on myself, the times when I have a lot of fear, a lot of mistrust and misguidance. A lot of the times before I got saved and came to God, I was filled with a sense of fear and unknown, and honestly a lot of sin and living out of sync with God and His design. Coming to Him and relying on Him allows us to see that God will not forsake us, that He will be here for us, and that He will provide guidance, just in the way that He provided Jacob the guidance to go to Egypt.

I believe that we are called to be a people of prayer, with hearts devoted to God, seeking Him for His wisdom and guidance, trusting in that direction, and being quick to repent of sin.