text: • Sometimes God’s plans for us are bigger than we are. So he needs to increase US before he can release those plans and dreams for us to walk out.
  • That was true for Jacob (Israel) and the 40 or so members of his extended family. God had plans for him that called for a nation, not a family.
  • Part of the purpose for their 400 years in Egypt was to make them big enough for what God wanted to give them.
  • But while they were in Egypt, the enemy specifically targeted their growth: “Kill all the baby boys!” the enemy said. (That sounds a lot like the “kill all the black babies” that Planned Parenthood started with, or the “kill all the baby girls” that some cultures have practiced.)
  • And yet, in spite of the opposition, God accomplished all the growth he had planned on.
  As I reflected on all this, I felt God whispering, “Some of my kids are in a growing season, and they don’t know it. And sometimes the enemy is particularly opposing their growth. That is not going to stop me. The only thing that will stop me is if my children stop trusting me, stop walking with me.”
  Is that YOU he’s talking about?
  Let’s trust God, even when we can’t see what he’s up to.
  In Genesis 14, the king of
  They lost, so the conquering horde plundered the cities of
  the losing kings.
  As part of their plundering, they carried off Abraham’s
  I’ve read this story (1) a thousand times. This morning, some new thoughts crossed my mind.
  • Uncle Abraham wasn’t trying to rescue five kings and five cities. He was rescuing his nephew (2). It also happens that we experience breakthrough as a side-effect of someone else’s breakthrough. Those might be worth looking for, too.
  • I observe that Abraham’s relationships based on relationship, rather than on gathering for warfare. (3) (They were “allies”; Hebrew: “Men of covenant.”) At least in this situation, the covenant relationship seemed to contribute to the victory in battle over what appeared to be superior forces.
  • That happened to Lot a second time a few chapters later, but this time (thanks to Uncle Abraham’s prayers), the angels chased
  • It was Abraham’s prayers for the people of
  (2) Genesis 14:14
  (3) Genesis 14:13
  (4) Genesis 19:15
  (5) see also: https://bit.ly/2Tvx7hb
  (5½) John 10:10
  (6) Ge 18:23-33. See also Exodus 32:10-14; Ezekiel 22:30; Isaiah 59:16; Jeremiah 5:1; Psalm 106.23
  Fathers, if they’re good fathers, often enjoy playing games
  with their kids, don’t they? It makes for time together, and it often
  strengthens the kids, physically, mentally and other ways, and it helps them
  grow and mature appropriately.
  For the past several days, I’ve been waking up haunted by a
  strange phrase, a foreign phrase, in my mind. It’s not the first time I’ve
  woken up with words from another language in my mind; that’s one of the games
  that Father plays with me, kind of like hide and seek.
  This time it was the term “mise en place.” I don’t recall
  ever hearing the term before, but suddenly, I’ve caught myself muttering “mise
  en place” under my breath a hundred times a day. I had to look it up.
  It turns out that this is a French culinary phrase
  (pronounced “mi zɑ̃ ˈplas.”)
  which means “putting in place” or “everything in its place,” and it describes
  getting all the ingredients ready for what you’re going to cook (apparently assuming
  that you’re cooking in the kitchen of a French restaurant).
  It turns out that a high end restaurant will have a “mise en place” for their “front of house” as well: All the tables set “just so,” with the right plates, right glasses and silverware, even the flowers, lighting and decorations exactly as they want them, before the doors ever open to receive their guests for the service. Interesting thought.
  In all these cases, the preparation of the “mise en place” is a team effort. Several cooks are cutting and chopping ingredients, several members of the service staff are setting out tablecloths and laying out the silver and the china. Bartenders are preparing syrups, setting out bottles, making sure the various glassware is within reach.
  Since the phrase continues to rattle around in my mind, I’ve been meditating on it for some days: What is God hinting about here? I’ve been pressing into his heart to hear more: What is this treasure that he’s hiding for me to discover in this?
  As I reflect on the phrase, I sense God’s Spirit resting on a couple of differing thoughts. I wonder if he’s whispering similar things to you?
  • I sense Father encouraging me to get my ducks in the row, to get the details of what we’ve discussed into place in my life. There are some preparations that yet need to be made before I’m actually ready for what he’s bringing to me. If he begins cooking the meal he has in mind for me before the mise en place is ready, he’ll need to stop and prepare ingredients, or worse, serve the meal without some key ingredients.
  • I also sense him whispering that, even with all the drama in the news, he does have his own ducks lined up: his mise en place is set up and ready to go. His house is ready for guests, and his place in his “front of house” – on the Earth in this case – is similarly ready. Everything is in its place for the next big event. (Side note: a goodly number of people have been involved in this chopping and slicing, in placing the forks and cups “just so” in preparation to receive his guests.)
  • I’m reminded that “everything” is a big word. In other recent Easter-egg hunts, he’s been emphasizing “mille,” “thousands” to me: there are a LOT of details that he’s got ready for his plans.