What's Next?

If you haven’t already experienced breakthrough in your own life, you likely know someone who has, or you are desiring it for yourself. During last week’s message, we were set-up for a breakthrough. We were encouraged to destroy our undisciplined appetites and deal with our past. The process of a breakthrough is often not linear, but in the book of Genesis, we see one example of a breakthrough timeline in the life of Jacob. Last week, we learned of Jacob’s deception of both his father and brother. This week, we looked at the twenty years of his life after that.

Jacob fled to his uncle Laban’s, fell in love with Rachel, and made a deal to marry her. But on his journey there, he had an encounter with God. In a dream, God spoke him and said he was giving him the land he was on and many descendants – the same promise God gave to Abraham. Genesis 28:16 says, “When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” How often are we clueless to the fact that God is at work around us? We get so consumed with our own challenges and our own plans that we fail to realize God is at work. Jacob’s response then was to make a “deal” with God. But you can’t make a deal with God. God makes the deals. You must have a dream and make a vow with no deals!

Jacob, the deceiver, was then deceived by Laban. After falling in love with Rachel, Jacob pledged to work for Laban for seven years so he could marry her. At the end of those seven years, he was then instead given her sister, Leah, and had to work an additional seven years for Rachel. Jacob later went on to deceive Laban into giving him more sheep than he was entitled to. After this, Jacob fled (again), but this time back to the land of his family. Often times, the only way we will change is when God brings us face to face with ourselves. Too often we think we can run away from our past and pretend it never happened. Jacob thought his brother, Esau, was seeking vengeance for his deception. Jacob thinks his problem is Esau. He didn’t realize, he was his own problem. Esau embraced Jacob! After his encounter with his brother, Jacob went on to build a home and a life for him and his family. God meets us at whatever level he finds us, in order to lift us to where he wants us to be. God met Jacob in the mess he had created for himself, and was still able to use him. You never know what God is doing behind the scenes.

The NIV Application Commentary Genesis by John H. Walton
The Beast that Crouches at the Door by David Forman
The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God by Lee Strobel
Genesis: A Commentary by Bruce Waltke
Genesis: A Parsha Companion by David Forman
Life Lessons from Genesis: Book of Beginnings by Max Lucado