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“Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”

You don’t really ever “win” when you wrestle with God, yet, if you hang in there, you can prevail. God doesn’t want someone who just sort of “ho-hum” follows along and never asks any questions. What we see in the lives of those who strive after God, there are questions, there is deep thought, there is “wrestling” with what it means to truly be “all in” with God. That’s what God wants. If he just wanted robots who would blindly follow every order, he already had that with the angels. He made man. He wants us to choose to follow him, after a struggle, through the wondering, and the questions. We choose to follow him, not because we know what it will bring, but because we trust him. That’s the kind of faith that honors the Lord.

*Reading the OT in 2017 plan can be found here

And in the morning, behold, it was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?” Laban said, “It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years.” Jacob did so, and completed her week. Then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.

Everyone looks out for their own interest. Laban needed to marry off his first daughter before he could let Rachel wed Jacob, and he needed help around the farm too. He was not honest with Jacob, but he was able to justify it to himself. Yet, how did Jacob respond? “well, I was tricked, so we aren’t really married, I need to get what we agreed…” nope. He honored his wedding vows to Leah. How many of us have the integrity to do what is right, even if we are tricked into it, it wasn’t what we expected, and the other party was acting wrongly? Not many of us. Even when others are intending to pull one over on you, even though others are not acting with honor, we still should.

Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and directed him, “You must not take a wife from the Canaanite women. Arise, go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father, and take as your wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your offspring with you

Whom you choose to live your life with matters. Marriage is not intended to be an experiment we “hope works out.” You have got to KNOW the one you’re marrying and be 100% confident come what may you will put Jesus first. Isaac didn’t want Jacob to marry someone who didn’t worship Jehovah God. That’s still a good policy today. 

Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.) Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Don’t use a permanent solution for a temporary problem. Esau was hungry and he felt like he was going to die… he wasn’t, but that’s how he felt. When he came out of the field from hunting, he smelled that good food Jacob was cooking up and he thought “I’ve gotta have some of that!” but he didn’t. As a result, he sold his birthright. We often get so caught-up with our problems of “today” we loose sight of the “big picture.” In most cases, just breathe, you’ll survive. “this too shall pass” (by the way, that phrase isn’t in the Bible, but it’s true, none-the-less). It may take a few decades, years, months, weeks, days, or even as with Esau, hours… but you’ll be okay. about 90% of our problems come from overly worrying about our problems. Just wait… you don’t have to act RIGHT NOW(!) in most cases. when you feel that urgency about something that’s a MAJOR event in life… slow down… think, pray, ask… One important example of this is our epidemic of suicide. You’re life is not that bleak to lead to that. Don’t use a permanent solution for a temporary problem. Relationships, money, depression… there is real hope in all these things. Ask for help. Reach out to people at a good church. Call the national suicide prevention lifeline 800-273-8255. Get help. Pray. Ask… if you want him, Jesus will not leave you.

*Reading the OT in 2017 plan can be found here

And he lifted up his eyes and saw, and behold, there were camels coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she dismounted from the camel and said to the servant, “Who is that man, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah his mother and took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her.

Love at first site, more often than not, is not a matter of chance, at least it’s not if it works out for your good and God’s glory. If you want to find a godly wife or husband, or there’s something else you’re wanting in your life, don’t just walk around and hope it takes place out of thin air. If you want a better job, you have to look for it. If you want more knowledge, you have to work for it. If you want a godly mate, you have to put yourself in a position to cross their path. Far too often we complain about what we don’t have and yet we have never done the work to be able to receive such a blessing. The Christian’s walk is not one of just floating through life hoping things turn out for the best and wondering what tomorrow will bring, no, it is a daily struggle of discipline towards the goal of God’s upward calling, to walk worthy of Jesus. What are your goals? How are you accomplishing them? What godly desires has God placed on your heart and what are you doing to make those happen? The Christian life is not a passive life… get out there and make it happen!