Pray First.

Read Genesis 29:15-30.

Jacob left home for Paddan Aram to find a wife among his kinsmen. He left as one who deceived to get what he wanted, always working an angle. But he met God along his way to Paddan Aram, and God changed him. Jacob heard and trusted the promises of God to be with him, to keep him, and to provide for him. Little did he know the deception he would face when he arrived at the home of Laban, his mother’s brother. 

We read in Genesis 29 that Jacob was promised wages to work for Laban. Jacob agreed with Laban to work for seven years in exchange for marriage to Rachel, Laban’s younger daughter. At the end of those years, Laban tricked Jacob, giving him his oldest daughter, Leah, instead of Rachel. Jacob was angry, but he loved Rachel so much that he agreed to work another seven years for her. Rachel was given to him, and he persevered in labor for the one he loved. 

Jacob completed his second agreement with Laban and was ready to go back home to his father’s land, the same land God promised him. But the saga of deception continued. Instead of thanking Jacob for all his years of labor and sending him and his wives and children off with a bang, Laban bargained him into another six years of labor. Laban was enjoying the increased wealth Jacob’s labor had brought him. Jacob, the one who had been a deceiver, was deceived again by Laban. Once more, Jacob persevered through Laban’s demands until God stepped in and called him home to his father’s land: “The Lord said to Jacob, ‘Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred, and I will be with you,’” (Gen 31:3 ESV).

Have you ever wanted to give up, call it quits? I imagine somewhere along the way, Jacob may have wanted to throw in the towel. Anyone who has begun a journey to health has most likely felt that hopelessness. You change your eating habits. You begin an exercise program. But failure cuts you down; you don’t see changes in your weight, your muscles are sore, and you crave your old foods. Ice cream in the evening taunts you from the freezer. 

Many face other kinds of trials and tribulations so great they, too, may feel like giving up. Finding the right mate. A difficult marriage. Infertility. Drug addiction. Alcoholism. An impossible boss. Finding friends or a church in a new city. Leaving behind unhealthy friendships. Whatever the tribulation, whatever the trial we are going through, God’s word reminds us not to give up, but to persevere. “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up,” (Gal 6:9). 

Jacob didn’t sit idly by waiting for his situation to change. He didn’t even try to manipulate Laban to give him what he wanted. He persevered.  He continued to work for Laban until God moved. And all along, through all his years of labor and waiting, God was with Jacob, preparing him for what lay ahead: being the father and leader of the nation of Israel.

God will do the same for us. We can have peace, grace, and hope in the Lord Jesus Christ even in our most difficult times. “So friend, I hope you won’t grow weary of doing good. That you will persevere. You never know what God is doing in [your life]. He sees your faithfulness, your willingness to try and to keep trying. Your loving efforts are not lost on Him,” (Loving Your Husband Well by Lisa Jacobson). 

As we keep on keeping on, persevering, the Bible says we should continue to praise him even in the middle of storms and trials of life. “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us,” (Rom 5:3-5 ESV). 

We live in a world where sin exists. And because sin exists, and has since the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, our world will have struggles. But God has a plan for each of us, and His plan is good. When we persevere in a storm, and when we praise Him through it, He sees us, he knows us, and we can trust that He is working for good in our lives. Like Jacob, it may take time, and we may not get the result we thought we wanted, but through it all, God will help us grow into the person He wants us to be.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything,” (James 1:2-5 ESV). 

Worship: Praise You In This Storm by Casting Crowns

Find Tracy on Facebook at Tracy Fields Todd, Writer, and on Instagram at @tracyftodd.