What are people saying about you? Do you ever wonder or worry about it? On the other hand, what people do not say to us also speaks volumes. What other people say about us does not finally define our lives.
Jacob’s brothers-in-law were angry about his success. They noticed that Jacob’s flocks grew stronger while theirs did not. Even Laban, his father-in-law also changed in his attitude toward Jacob. Perhaps the tone of his voice changed. Maybe he did not speak to Jacob as often or as kindly as he once did.
But God . . . “Then the Lord said to Jacob.” Even if others were not longer speaking to Jacob, God was still speaking. God told Jacob to go back to the land he had promised to the family. He sent him back to his relatives. Best of all, the Lord promised his presence, “I will be with you.”
I love the Lauren Daigle song that says,
“You say I am loved when I can't feel a thing
You say I am strong when I think I am weak
And You say I am held when I am falling short
And when I don't belong, oh You say I am Yours
And I believe, oh I believe
What You say of me
I believe
The only thing that matters now is everything You think of me.
In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity.’
When the sounds of the skeptics grow silent, the Shepherd’s voice still speaks. What he says is true. God is with you. God is for you. “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).
