God At Work

Have you ever felt like God was absent in your life? Like He wasn’t hearing your prayers or seeing your struggles? You’re not alone. Even in the Bible, we find stories where God seems silent. But appearances can be deceiving.

In Genesis 29, we encounter a fascinating chapter in Jacob’s life where God’s name isn’t mentioned once. No prayers, no Revelations, no obvious divine intervention. Yet, as I studied this passage, I realized that God was very much at work behind the scenes. Let me share with you what I discovered about how God works in our lives, even when we can’t see Him.

We live in an age of instant gratification. We want quick fixes and immediate results. But God often operates on a different timeline. As I explained in my sermon:

“God uses as much time as necessary to change us. I don’t know about you, but I’d like to kind of go into the testing room of God and take a test and be one and done. No more testing, no more stress, no more strain, no more agony. But God doesn’t work that way.”

Consider Jacob’s journey:
– 25 years between God’s covenant with Abraham and Isaac’s birth
– 20 years for Isaac and Rebecca to have Jacob and Esau
– 40 years spanning Jacob’s experiences in Genesis 29-31

God took His time molding Jacob into the man He wanted him to be. The same is true for us. As Philippians 1:6 reminds us, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” God is patient in His work of transforming us. Are we patient enough to let Him?

One of the most surprising tools in God’s workshop is other people – especially those who frustrate or hurt us. In Jacob’s case, God used Laban, a “master deceiver,” to teach Jacob some hard lessons about deception.

“God was going to use Laban to teach Jacob some of the hardest lessons he’s ever learned in his life. Who has or who is God putting in your life to teach you some of the hardest lessons you’ve ever had?”

It’s crucial to remember that God isn’t using difficult people just to punish us. Rather, He’s allowing us to “taste our own medicine” so we can see how our character flaws affect others. It’s an act of grace, designed to wean us from worldliness and transform our hearts.

Finally, God often employs difficult circumstances to shape our character. For Jacob, this included:
– Deception (the bride swap)
– Hard labor (working for Laban)
– Family tension (loving Rachel more than Leah)

Each of these challenges was an opportunity for growth. As I noted in the sermon:

“God is overseeing all of this because he’s going to take Jacob and he’s going to change him. It’s going to be a process, it’s going to take time, but God is going to change his life, just as God does the same thing with us.”

So how can we apply these truths to our own lives? Here are some practical steps:

1. Be patient with God’s timing. Trust that He’s working even when you can’t see it.
2. Look for lessons in your relationships, especially the difficult ones. How might God be using that person to refine you?
3. Embrace challenging circumstances as opportunities for growth. Ask God what He wants to teach you through them.
4. Focus on God’s hand at work rather than the hand of man. Remember that He’s sovereign over every situation.
5. Allow your circumstances to drive you closer to the Lord. Use times of struggle as catalysts for prayer and dependence on Him.

Remember, God is always at work in your life, even when His presence isn’t obvious. As we navigate life’s challenges, let’s strive to see our circumstances through the lens of God’s character, promises, and presence. In doing so, we’ll find ourselves being transformed more and more into the people He created us to be.