Evergreen Church (formerly Calvary Bible Church)- Flagstaff

I loved my grandparents, but my kids never knew them. I never knew my great grandparents. In a generation or two, we will be totally forgotten. All our accomplishments, all our failures, everything we built...forgotten. The only thing that will last is our relationship with God.

When someone wrongs you, do you trust in God, or take revenge. Not forgiving and punishing others reveals a lack of faith.

In chapter 32 we saw God change Jacob's name to Israel. Jacob was a schemer and manipulator. Jacob believed the promise, but thought he had so scheme to receive it. Israel had finally surrendered to God. In Chapter 33 Jacob will have to decided, is he Jacob or Israel? Will he live by his new identity or the old one? Will he live by faith or fear?

When you were born did you come out running? Maybe talking? Of course not, it took time. Often when we put our trust in God, we think we will start running with faith, but just like it took time to learn to walk, it takes time to learn to live with faith.

After weeks of learning about this dysfunctional family, we begin to see changes. The first change is an immediate obedience to God. The next change is setting up boundaries with a family member that wants to drag them back to dysfunction.

Competition is the thief of joy. As Leah begins to grow in God's grace, her competition with Rachel pulls her back into the world's operating system and creates a huge mess.

Last week Jacob had an aha moment. He realized that he could trust God, but trust is a muscle that needs to grow. In chapter 29 we see Jacob's trust begin to grow.

We all have defense mechanisms that do more harm than good. It might be sarcasm, using the silent treatment, or lashing out in anger. Each one of these feels good in the moment but actually aggravates the situation instead of solving it. When we trust God, we can let go of our broken defense mechanisms, and trust in God's protection. That is exactly what Jacob learns in Genesis 28:10-22.

In a world full of dysfunctional relationships, where people use each other to feel fulfilled, the only way to truly love, with freedom, is by getting your needs met by God.

God didn't waste anything in Abraham's life, nor anything in Isaac's life. God will also use everything in your life to grow you into the person He created you to be. With God, nothing in wasted!