Provision and Protection

I was reading about the life of Jacob in Genesis. Jacob really deserved a lot of what happened to him. He lied and cheated his way through life and when he wanted a wife he met an uberJacob in Laban who out-lied and out-cheated the cheater!

The wonderful thing about Jacob is that through it all, God was teaching him to trust, not in himself and his own wits, but in God.

The thing I noticed was that when Jacob was in the midst of being mistreated by Laban in Genesis 31, Jacob said: "But the God of my father has been with me." Jacob got the "bad" spotted and speckled sheep in Laban's flock for his wages and suddenly all the strong ones were spotted and speckled. Then when Jacob fled from Laban and was pursued by him, God appeared to Laban and said "Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad."

So what we find is that God provided for Jacob and protected Jacob, but it was in the presence of Laban. Often times we want God to bless us and protect us but we want to be as far away from temptation and attack and trial as possible. But God, it seems, provides for us in the midst of bad circumstances. He protects us while under attack.

Don't worry about the Laban's in your life. Trust God anyway. You may feel cheated, but God will provide you with rich spiritual blessings despite what the world wants to do to you. You may feel attacked but God will make sure you arrive safely to His heavenly kingdom.

Pastor Tom