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(upbeat music) - Welcome to Daily Drive Time Devotions. Hi, this is Pastor Tom,
and we are in week seven of our look together through the book of Genesis. Since
we're going to chapter a day, that means we're in chapter 31.

And in chapter 31, well, remember, we're looking at Jacob, Jacob the schemer,
Jacob the man who struggled his way towards faith, Jacob the man who began with
bargaining, and then he's going to move to wrestling, and then he's going to move to
limping, and then he's going to move to trusting in his relationship with God. Same
thing that happens to many of us. We begin with bargaining, then there's
wrestling, struggling, then there's limping, there's a pain, a hurt that comes
into our lives, and then there is trusting.

But right now we're in chapter 31, and in chapter 31, Jacob is still struggling.
Here he's struggling to separate from his father-in-law, from the trouble that
he's gotten himself into with Laban. Listen to what happens in Genesis 31,
starting in verse one and going down through, oh, about verse 20 with a few
comments in between, beginning in verse one.

Jacob heard that Laban's sons were saying, Jacob has taken everything our father
owned and has gained all his wealth from what belonged to our father. And Jacob
noticed that Laban's attitude toward him was not what it had been. Then the Lord
said to Jacob, go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I
will be with you.

So here we have in these first few verses, Laban is beginning to be more and
more unfriendly towards Jacob, simply because Jacob is becoming more and more
rich, and the jealousy is setting in. In verse four, so Jacob sent word to
Rachel and Leah, his two wives, you remember, to come out to the field where his
flocks were. And he said to them, I see that your father's attitude toward me is
not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me.

And then down in verse 13, the Bible says, God says to Jacob, I am the God of
Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and you made a vow to me. Now leave this
land at once and go back to your native land. So here's God a couple of times
already in these verses saying to Jacob, it's time to go, it's time to return.

It's interesting to me that in verse 13, God has not forgotten Jacob's vow. Now,
when we looked at that vow this last week, we remembered that it was a
bargaining vow. It was a vow, God, if you'll be with me, then I'll be with you.

But even that kind of a vow, God remembered it. And he reminds Jacob, I've been
with you. So what are you going to do now, Jacob?

Beginning in verse 14, here's what happens, when Jacob says, I want to go home, to
my homeland. Then Rachel and Leah replied, do we still have any share in the
inheritance of our father's estate? Now, when we look at this as foreigners, not
only has he sold us, but he has used up what was paid for us.

Surely all the wealth that God took away from our father belongs to us and our
children. So do whatever God has told you. Then Jacob put his children and his
wives on camels and he drove all the livestock ahead of him, along with all the
goods that he had accumulated in Patent of Moran, to go to his father, Isaac, in
the land of Canaan.

When Laban had gone to shear the sheep, he had gone to his father's household
gods. Moreover, Jacob deceived Laban the Arminian by not telling him that he was
running away. Here in verse 19, they're going to shear the sheep, that's a busy
time, it's a good time to sneak away.

And here in verse 20, Jacob deceives Laban. God's told Jacob to leave, that's
the right thing to do. But here he is, he's doing the right thing in the wrong
way, and it's going to catch up with him.

Listen to what happens in verses 25 down through verse 30. Jacob had pitched his
tent in the hill country of Gilead when Laban overtook him. This is as Jacob is
trying to escape.

And Laban and his relatives camped there too. Then Laban said to Jacob, "What
have you done? "You've deceived me and you've carried off my daughters "like
captives in a war.

"Why did you run off secretly and deceive me? "Why didn't you tell me so I could
send you away "with joy and singing to the music "of tambourines and harps? "You
didn't even let me kiss my grandchildren "and my daughters goodbye.

"You've done a foolish thing. "I have the power to harm you. "But last night,
the God of your father said to me, "be careful not to say anything to Jacob,
"either good or bad.

"Now you have gone off because you long to return "to your father's house. "But
why did you steal my gods? " It's an interesting passage.

Here's Laban concerned about his family leaving, but you see in verse 30, he's
very concerned about the household gods. These were idols, false little statues
that you'd put on a shelf somewhere that Laban somehow was trusting to give him
prosperity. And he thinks that because Jacob has stolen these gods that somehow
he's not going to prosper any longer.

In verse 31, Jacob answered Laban, "I was afraid. "This is why I left. "I was
afraid because I thought you would take your daughters "away from me by force.

" It's interesting in these verses, Jacob is really beginning the road home.
He's a man who struggled, but here he's beginning something new in his life.
Some new seeds are being planted.

Four significant things happen in these passages that get Jacob leaning in the
right direction in life. Sometimes that's what it takes. You've been leaning in
the wrong direction in life.

You know things are headed the wrong direction. You gotta start leaning the
right direction, the faith direction in life. And it doesn't always happen in a
moment.

I wish it did, but it doesn't. How does it begin to happen? How does the lean
begin to change?

Either for you or for somebody that you love, somebody that you're praying for.
Here's four significant things that happen in Jacob's life that get him leaning
in a different direction. Number one, he begins to follow God's direction.

Back in verse 13, God reminds him of the vow. And Jacob follows, he begins to
head back home. He begins in some small way to leave behind his spiritual
self-dependence.

And when you do that, you're starting to begin your journey home, to begin your
journey towards faith. He begins to follow God's direction. Second thing that
happens is he begins to recognize God's protection.

We just read about the dream that Laban had had, a dream where God said don't
harm, don't do anything good or bad, or even say anything good or bad to Jacob.
And it had to get through to Jacob, God's protecting me. God knows where I am.

He begins to recognize God's protection. Often that's what gets somebody leaning
in the direction of faith. You recognize God's been with me all along.

Even as I've been ignoring him, he's been protecting me. And then he begins to
recognize, the third thing that happens is he begins to recognize God's
blessing. And that the blessing is God's.

All through his time with Laban, he had thought that it was his ingenuity
somehow that had brought this blessing into his life. But as God comes to Jacob
a couple of times here, early in this chapter, he says, I am the one that's
blessed you. I am the one who has been with you.

He begins to see it's not just me, it's God at work in my life. How does Jacob
begin to lean in the faith direction? First, he begins to follow God's
direction.

Second, he begins to recognize God's protection. Third, he begins to recognize
God's blessing. But there's a fourth thing that happens.

Fourth, he admits his fear. There are three words that Jacob says to Laban that
are crucial in the change that begins to happen in his life. They are the words,
I was afraid.

Laban says, why did you leave? Why did you take my family? Why didn't you let me
kiss my grandchildren?

And instead of making excuses, instead of saying nothing, Jacob honestly
answers. He honestly answers, no schemes. He just honestly answers, I was
afraid.

And that was the truth. In fact, that's why he schemed. In Jacob's life, a day
never went by without his feeling fearful and fretful.

God had promised to provide for him. He had no need to fear, and yet he was
constantly defeated by fear. Same thing that happens to many of us.

And he countered his failure to trust in God by becoming a deceiver, a
manipulator, a runaway. That's happened to so many people. And there is a
crucial moment in life where you just say, I was afraid.

That's why I did it. I was afraid. I don't want to miss as we go through this
chapter what was happening with the gods, because it's really the key point to
how you and I come to a place of faith.

Who are you going to trust? Saying I was afraid and trusting in the wrong God is
not going to get me anywhere. Many people do that.

They realize they're afraid, but then they trust in some God that somehow it's
going to give them what they want rather than the God of the universe who has
created us to live out a different kind of life. And in this chapter, you see
the contrast between Laban's gods and Jacob's god. Laban's gods were manmade
gods.

Laban's gods were little G gods, a god who could be stolen, a god who could be
hidden. The end of this story is the gods had been stolen as we read earlier by
Rachel. And she makes excuses to say that, oh, I didn't really do it.

She lies and somehow seems to get away with it. But we're going to find out later
that she suffers for this as well. But it's all a fight over a powerless God.

When man creates his little G god and controls his little G god, his God is
little than he is. Who wants a God like that? That's Laban's gods.

But then there's Jacob's god. This is the god who brought Jacob to Haran, who
prospered Jacob in Haran, who told Jacob when to leave Haran, and who kept Laban
from harming Jacob. This is the god who had a plan from beginning of Genesis to
the end of Revelation.

And when you and I recognize that God is the creator, that he is the one who
controls our lives rather than us trying to control his actions, when you
recognize that God is the director, then everything changes. Jacob's god is the
director of the whole show. Laban's god is just a prop in the show.

When you recognize Jacob's god, the true god, you realize that there is a god
who is at work, even in our disappointments. There's a god who is at work, even
when you and I don't recognize it. Our self-made gods, they can only do as much
as we can do, even less.

But our creator god, he is at work directing every detail of your life. Let's
talk to him. Jesus Christ, thank you that we can trust you.

Forgive us for those times when we make a little god out of our money, or out of
our plans, or out of our worries, our need to control. When we make a little god
out of those things that are important to us, forgive us for those times. And
teach us, teach us to trust you instead.

Instead of trusting things to trust you, instead of trusting our plans to trust
you, because you are trustworthy. Lord, thank you, thank you that we can trust
you. And today, you might want to just say to him in your prayer, today, Jesus, I
want to trust you with this.

The very thing you're facing today, I trust you with this today. That
relationship, that meeting, that problem, I trust you with this. In Jesus' name,
I trust you, amen.

Tomorrow, Jacob wrestles with God.