"Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well."

“Zebulun will settle near the shores of the sea, and he will be a safe harbor for ships. His border will extend to Sidon. Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between its saddlebags. He saw a good place to rest and a land that seemed pleasant, so he bent down to shoulder another load and embraced a life of hard labor. Dan will judge his people, as on of the tribes of Israel. Yet Dan will also be a snake by the road, a viper along the path that strikes at the horse's heels as it goes by so that its rider falls backward.

I wait patiently for Your salvation, Eternal One!” (Genesis 49:13-18)

This was part of a prophecy that Jacob spoke over his sons when he knew it was close to his time. He wanted them to “know what to expect in the days to come.” Each son had a very different prophecy about his lineage. While Zebulun would be seen as a safe harbor to those tired, lonely and hungry passerbyers – Issachar would be known for his hard work in continually laboring for his dreams to be fulfilled.

God makes each one of us unique and is more than able to form and forge us in to something of value. Even Reuben, while he lost the place leadership as firstborn by sleeping with his father's concubine [a], God still made him into a great nation.

God called two of his most intimate friends when He walked on the earth – James and John, “the sons of thunder.”  Looking at the meaning of their names, what came up were words like: tumult, impetuous, angry, noisy, emotional, and uproar. You start getting a picture of young men that were rash, loud, and quick to act out on their emotions. They were a handsful.

These young men talked their mom into asking Jesus for a place on his right and left – trying to be the greatest. They also asked Jesus if they could call down fire from heaven to consume the Samaritans when the Samaritans would not receive them.

But later, these two same men were the ones chosen along with Peter to go to the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus surrendered His life to His destiny to die upon the cross. Jesus in his most vulnerable moment of agony chose these men among all following him to be with Him in it.

Both of these men's lives were totally transformed in the presence of Jesus. John was called the “one that Jesus loves” and Jesus left him to care for His very own mother. James was one of the first to be martyred.

This is hope to all moms who live with “sons of thunder.” They may be noisy, act without thinking, have outbursts of anger, and even be destructive at times, but Jesus knows how they were made. He had a plan and a purpose for them that was good before they were even born. As they are directed towards Jesus, He is more than able to bring them into their destinies and transform them along the way.

Jesus, when I think about the wonders you have done in my life and around me, I stand in awe. I have no doubt of your care or transforming power.

a. More than once in the Bible, sleeping with the king's concubine was seen in securing one's place of next in line for leadership. As examples, Absalom was advised to sleep with David's concubine and Adonijah asked Bathsheba for the hand of Abishag the Shunammite. Both were executed in their attempts to gain the kingdom.