What is God doing that you can’t see yet? /// Flannelgraph: Part 2

We're so glad you've chosen to listen to our online experience! Here at Plum Creek, we’re all about changed lives, changing lives; and what that simply means is that what Christ has done in us is not just for us, but it’s for us to share with others in our community and around the world.

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If you're using this teaching for a Home Groups setting, we've included discussion prompts to help guide your conversation:

1. Where might God be shaping you right now, even though your circumstances have not changed?

2. Reflect on a season that felt wasted at the time but later revealed God’s faithfulness or growth in your life.

3. Doug described Jacob moving from chasing God’s blessings to wanting God himself. What would that shift look like in your own faith?

4. Read Genesis 28:10 to 22 and consider why God pursued Jacob before Jacob had fully committed himself to God.

5. Who are you tempted to give up praying for, and how does Jacob’s story challenge you to trust that God may still be working?

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Welcome to the Plum Creek Church Podcast. We're so thankful that you're listening along with us this way. Now, if you're a returning listener, welcome back. If you're new or newish, we'd love to become part of your listening rotation. So be sure to subscribe and follow to be notified when new episodes are available. Now, before we get into the message, we want to remind you of one thing. We really believe that if Jesus is right about God, about life, about the soul, then it only makes sense to rearrange our lives around what he says is true. Because if you choose to follow Jesus like that, it really does change everything, including the lives around you. Okay, let's posture our hearts for what God has in store. This message.

Message Start

SPEAKER_01 1:00

Doing all right? Thanks for being here. Good to see you. Um man, 20 years. That's crazy, isn't it? That's amazing. Uh make sure you uh you uh join us for that celebration. That's gonna be a good thing. I've been a pastor for 35 years now. It doesn't even seem possible that uh I could be old enough to have that job for that long. Um one thing I've noticed over the years that I've been doing this as I've had the man real privilege to walk with people uh through all kinds of different seasons of life is that there are times when we we have incredible joy, and it's it's uh births and weddings and celebrations, new jobs, answered prayers, milestones that are worth celebrating. And then sometimes there's also those seasons where we walk through really hard things together, seasons of loss and disappointment, uncertainty, where it feels like life is not unfolding the way that we would have envisioned that it would unfold. And while every story is a little bit different, one of the things that I've noticed that's true in my life and also from walking with so many people over the years is that we inevitably will find ourselves in these moments where we just ask this question. I get it, I've done it too. Like, why? Why am I having to go through this? Why me? Why now? Uh why is this happening? And I don't think that's a bad question. I think it's a good question because there's those are things that we feel we need to be able to express them. And I don't I don't think that God's intimidated by our questions. I don't think that he is offended by our tears or that somehow he's threatened by our confusion. But I wonder if there isn't something that can happen as we walk through. And I I understand because we've been through tough things in the Miller home, but I I wonder if there isn't something about the process that we go through that eventually we could get to a place as Christ followers where we're asking a different question. Again, I think the why question is okay, but to ask the question, what is God doing in all of this? And have you ever like, what is God doing and what does God want to do in me? And I wonder if that doesn't become more important because we're always trying to make sense of things for sure. We are. And we're in this series that we've called flannel graph. And for some of you, you're probably like, what in the world is that all about? And Eric did a great job last week talking about uh David and Goliath. But how many of you grew up going to Sunday school where the sweet Sunday school teacher had the flannel graph? You know, it's like, yeah, the the one-dimensional way for a story to come alive, right? So they would have an easel for some of you that are young, and they would put this board on there, and then they would put flannel over it. And then then when they would tell a story like I'm telling today, they would have little uh characters that they would like stick onto the flannel graph. And and that was before like video. And I know you young people are like, wait, what? Before video? Right? Like before it was one-dimensional and it was before veggie tails. That's all you need to know. And they were doing their best to try and help the story to come alive. And so um, one of the things that I want to be part of this series is not just rehearsing the story itself, but asking this question is there a thread that we can see throughout these stories of the way that God was uh on the move, the way that God did things, the way that God cared for and and was part of people's lives. So the question, what is God doing in me through these circumstances of life, are important. And today we're gonna spend a little time with a man named Jacob. And if you've been around church very long, you maybe have heard some of his story. I hope you've read it. He's this guy who uh stole the birthright and stole the blessing. He wrestled with God and God changed his name. And there's lots of details, and we'll talk about some of them today, but I don't actually think the details are really the story. The story and the reason that it's here, and the reason that it's good for me to read this story, and the reason that it's good for you to know the narrative of this story, is because the story is ultimately about the story of our God who refuses to stop pursuing a man. That's what the story is all about. A God who keeps showing up again and again and again until Jacob becomes an entirely different person. And this is kind of the heart behind my message today is this this God who pursues us is the God who shapes us. Through all circumstances of life, he's shaping us. Now, before we jump in, let me tell you how we're gonna do this today, because I got a little bit of a task, although I've done it three times, so I think we can make it. Um, this story spans 10 chapters. Genesis, you might want to write it down. Genesis chapter 25 through Genesis chapter 35. And we're about to cover 40 years of this man's life in 20 minutes. Like, that's a big deal. So I'm gonna tell you every detail, every conversation, every dream. I'm just kidding. I'm not telling you all that. Um, we're well, there's no way we can stop at every conversation in every chapter. So today we're gonna fly through the story together. But here's where we're headed. So I want you to just in your mind have a frame for where we're going. We're gonna have three sacred stops in his story that are ultimately gonna lead us to a final destination. So three sacred stops that are part of the narrative of Jacob's life, very intentional, that bring us to a destination. And again, this is the story of a God who never stops pursuing. My hope is that sometime this week you may go back and read Genesis chapter 25 to 35, because we can only hit those three sacred stops. But the entire story is one incredible testimony that helps us to understand God's patience, his faithfulness, and the pursuing love of God. And as we walk through it together, here's the question that I want you to keep asking while we're walking through the narrative that I will discuss with you today, and that's this What was God doing that Jacob couldn't yet see? What was God doing in Jacob's life that he didn't have a chance to see yet because he was living in the middle of it? Because that's like our life too, right? And that's my hope is that as we walk through this, this question could become personal, where even right now, in this moment in your life, you would begin to reflect on the very same thing. What is God doing in me that I might miss if I don't pay attention and look for it myself? So before we get to our first sacred stop, let me give you just enough of Jacob's story to help you understand. Uh, Jacob enters the world grabbing, say grabbing. You're like, what does that mean? He was born a twin, and it scriptures tell us that he had hold of his brother's heel when his uh brother uh came out first. It's almost as if Genesis is telling us something about his life before he ever says a word. Jacob spends much of his early life grabbing for things, trying to grab what he wants. He grabs his brother's birthright, he deceives his father and grabs the blessing that was uh his older brother's. He was desperate to want God's blessing. And then you as you read the story, you'll see that he's just trying to secure all of those things in his own strength. And eventually his older brother Esau gets super frustrated with him, I would say past frustrated, because Jacob's older brother decides that he's had enough and he wants to kill him. So Jacob uh decides that he's gonna flee and he leaves home. He's alone, he's afraid, he has no certainty of his future, he doesn't know if he'll ever be back home again. And it's here, in one of the lowest moments of his life, that we're gonna pick up our first sacred stop. So if you have your Bibles or your smart devices, you can uh turn or scroll to Genesis chapter 28. Uh Genesis chapter 28, and we're gonna start in verse 10. Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. At sundown, he arrived at a good place to set up camp and stop there for the night. Jacob found a stone to rest his head against and to lay down to sleep. As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven, and he saw angels of God going up and down the stairway. At the top of the stairway stood the Lord, and he said, I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father Isaac. The ground you're lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants. Your descendants will be as numerous as the dust of the earth, they will spread out in all directions, from the west, to the east, from the north, and to the south. All of the families of earth will be blessed through you and your descendants. Now I want to stop for just a second, because I want you to really pay close attention to this next verse. This next verse gives us God's promise to Jacob. So I need you to see this. Several I will statements and I am statements. What's more, I am with you and I will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. This last sentence, I want you to remember, I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything that I have promised. I want you to remember that last part. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything that I have promised. Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn't even aware of it. But he also, but he was also afraid and said, What an awesome place this is. It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven. Now, there's a lot going on here, but let me ask you, as we continue to walk, follow with me through this narrative of this question that we're going to keep asking. What was God doing that Jacob couldn't yet see? Jacob was on the run. God knew he was leading him. Jacob thought he was leaving home, but God knew he was bringing him to this place. Jacob thought this was the end, but God knew it was just the beginning. And here's what I love about this moment. Please, please see this. Don't miss this. Jacob wasn't looking for God. God was looking for Jacob. You need to remember that. God pursues us. And the God that pursues us is the God that changes us. Jacob is exhausted. He's sleeping on a rock, running because of his own consequences. Have you ever had life get complicated because you made some mistakes? We all have. We've all had that happen. That's what's happening to Jacob. His consequences are of his own choices, and that's exactly, you need to hear this. This is exactly where God chooses to meet him. And I love that this first response of God towards Jacob wasn't, hey, bro, get your life all figured out and fixed. That's not what he did. Rather, it was just his presence. His presence of pursuit in his life. Why? Because God wasn't waiting for Jacob to get his life together. God was already moving towards him. You experience that? We need to be reminded. That's what God does. Because the God who pursues is the God who shapes us. So pick up the story again in verse 18. The next morning, Jacob got up very early, and he took the stone that he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Say memorial. I want you to remember that word. Then he poured olive oil over it. He named that place Bethel. That's why we've called this first sacred stop Bethel, which means the house of God, although it was previously called Los. Now, I want you to see Jacob's response. Remember, God made these promises. Now watch what Jacob says. This is very important. Then Jacob made this vow. He starts his vow with this if, do you see it? If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, and if I return safely to my father's home, then the Lord will certainly be my God. And this memorial pillar that I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything that he gives me. God said six times, you can bank on it, I will. And Jacob says, Okay, if you do that, then I'll make you my God. Right? He doesn't quite understand the beauty of God's promises in the way that he keeps promises. Even here, God is already way more committed to Jacob than Jacob is to God. So Jacob takes the very stone that he's been sleeping on and he stands it up as a memorial. And throughout the Old Testament, we see this often. This happens often in the stories, in the narrative of the Old Testament, where people have this experience with God. They see God do something in a big way, and they want to make a memorial so that they can go back and remember this moment of what God has done. Jacob probably thought that God was changing his circumstances. And as we look back, knowing the narrative, understanding the story of Jacob's life, we can see that actually God was shaping him. So let me pause here for a second. Some of you know what it's like to be in a place, in a season, a shaping season like this one that we're talking about. You might feel a little bit like Jacob, tired, uncertain of your future, fearful of what lies ahead. Maybe even on the run, wondering if God is present. And maybe some of what you're feeling is a direct result of some decisions that you made that haven't gone well, and you wish you could even go back and rewind and do some things differently. But I want you to remind, uh, be reminded today of something Jacob discovered. God is often at work in the places that we would least expect him to be at work. And maybe, this has been my prayer of the last couple of weeks as I've been preparing this time together, maybe that there will be a day where you will say, just like Jacob did in verse 16, surely the Lord was in this place and I wasn't even aware of it. I was working hard to try and navigate the difficulties of life. I was very concerned about what was happening on the externals, and I wasn't paying attention well to the way God was at work in this moment. Surely the Lord was in this place, and I wasn't even aware. So now Jacob leaves Bethel carrying this promise from God that we learned at the sacred stop number one at Bethel. And we get to the second stop, and this is a tough stop, guys. This is a tough stop, and I'm just gonna call this this uh sacred stop number two Laban. Say Laban. You should say it with a little disdain though. Say Laban. Yeah, let me tell you, show you why. Jacob arrives at the home of this guy named Laban, and he meets Laban's daughters. And Laban's second daughter, Rachel. She's a hottie boy. And he falls. And when I mean falls for her, I mean falls for her. He's head over heels in love. And so he goes and he talks to Laban and he says, Listen, I really want to marry your daughter, Rachel. And he says, Okay, how many of you have heard of a dowry before? You know what a dowry is back in the old days. You'd have to pay your father-in-law to uh to be to have his daughter's hand in marriage. And so they negotiate, and their negotiation for the dowry is seven years worth of work caring for Laban's flocks. Seven years. Now, ladies, there's a part of this story that I'm gonna need your help with because I'm gonna share it with you here real quick. But when I get done, I just need you to go, oh, that's awesome. Because you got to hear what the scriptures tell us about these seven years. Are you ready? I need your help. The Bible says those seven years seemed like only a few days because of how much he loved her. Yeah, so special. What a guy, huh? Seven years. Some of you are like, I wish my guy would work. Period. Right? I'm just kidding. Seven years, seven years. But now the story takes a twist here. It takes a twist, and uh it does not go down the way that uh he would have expected. The wedded day comes and Laban switches daughters on him. Can you imagine? So he gets married, he wakes up after his wedding day and is like, wait, what? You Leah? What are you doing here? I worked for seven years for Rachel. Why is this happening? And he's been deceived. Isn't it interesting that the deceiver got deceived? Boy, he took it on the chin big time here. So he goes back, and obviously he's really frustrated with Laban, and he he says, This is not the way this should work, and you got to go back and read the story because it's just um and he says, Well, I'll tell you what, you work another seven years, I'll give you Rachel. So he works another seven years. Nice guy, right? You think you got a tough father-in-law. Children are born and flocks grow and God blesses him, and all throughout this working relationship with this Laban guy, he keeps changing the rules of their working relationship over and over and over again. And before you know it, 20 years have passed. Twenty years. And it comes to this moment where he's trying to get away from Laban, and Laban comes back and is trying to chase him down, and they have this conversation in Genesis chapter 31, verse 38. For 20 years, Jacob says, I've been with you, caring for your flocks, and all that time your sheep and your goats never miscarried. In all those years, I never used a single ram of yours for food. If any were attacked and killed by wild animals, I never showed you a carcass and asked you to reduce your count of the flock. No, I took the loss myself. You made me pay for every stolen animal, whether it was taken in broad daylight or in the dark of night. I worked for you through the scorching heat of the day and through the cold and sleepless nights. Yes, for twenty years I slaved in your house. I worked for fourteen years, earning two of your daughters, and then six more years for your flock, and you changed my wages ten times. In fact, now I need you to, I'm gonna stop for a second before I read the in fact part. I want you to see the way he talks about God. Because God to him is an ancestral thing. This is the way that my forefathers have understood God, because he doesn't, he's not there yet. And he said, This is my dad's God. So look the way he says this in verse 42. In fact, if the God of my father had not been on my side, the God of Abraham and the fearsome God of Isaac, you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen your abuse and my hard work, and that's why he appeared to you last night and rebuked you. So you can hear Jacob's word, he's ticked now. And he has every right to be, right? This guy was not a good person. He was very difficult to work with, and he's endured scorching heat and cold and sleepless nights and year after year of just showing up, trying to do it right. And some of you know how that feels. Because you too keep showing up, trying to do what's right. Maybe you're not tending sheep, but quietly remaining faithful in a season that is lasting way, way longer than you would have ever imagined that it lasts. For 20 years, 20 years, he was trying to be faithful, and friends, for 20 years, his God remained faithful to his promises, doing exactly what he said he would do. Do you know why? Because that's who God is. He's faithful. He's faithful. So let me ask you our question again. What was God doing that Jacob couldn't yet see? Have you ever been so lost in life circumstances that it was hard to keep perspective that God was still on the move in the middle of all of that? Jacob thought God was absent, but God was keeping his promise. Jacob thought these years were being wasted, but God had been with him every single day. And the miracle of this second sacred stop is not that life got easier. I need you to see that. It did not get easier. This was very, very difficult. The miracle was that God never left him and that God was true to his promises. Without realizing it, Jacob was living inside a promise that God had already made. And then remember, sometimes, sometimes God does his deepest work in the longest seasons. To all that we should say, Amen, right? Oh, that's great, right? No, that's hard. But that's also why we need to pay attention. God did exactly what he said he would do. And I want you to see what changed. At Bethel, Jacob was living on a promise. Twenty years later, he's living in the testimony of the reality of who God said he was and what he would do. God did exactly what he said. Some of us have been in a laban season and it's lasting much longer than you would ever have wanted or ever expected. Harder than you imagined. You've been faithful. You keep showing up, but privately you're at a place where you're wondering, man, has God forgotten me? Why? Why do I have to go through this? And I want to remind you of what Jacob couldn't yet see. God hadn't forgotten him. God hadn't left him. For 20 years, God had quietly kept every single promise that he made to him at Bethel. And looking back, we can see that ultimately, in the middle of all of this life that he was leading, God was shaping Jacob. So 20 years have passed, God had kept every promise. He made Jacob's family has grown, and boy, it grew. You got to read it. It's like it's like a soap opera. And his flocks have grown. Again, unmistakable hand in favor of God. Every time Laban changed the rules to be like, well, you can have the spotted ones. I'll take the other one. Then all of them are spotted. Like it's just you can't deny that God's favor is on him. And as a result, his wealth grows. And everything around Jacob has changed, but one thing is still in process, and that's Jacob himself, just like what's still in process is you and me. So remember the sentence that I asked you to tuck away back at Bethel? I will not leave until I have finished giving you everything that I promised you. God's not done yet. And that's why we get to this third sacred stop, and it's called Pinial. God says, Let me change you. Jacob has finally left Laban and he's heading back home, but then he receives the news that he never wanted to hear. And here's the news. Remember his brother, his twin brother, that decided he was going to kill him? He's on his way to come and meet his brother. And that'd be fun, right? Oh, family reunion. Except he's bringing 400 men with him. And if you're Jacob, what do you think that means? I'm about to get it, right? And I deserve it because of everything that I've done. So he starts doing oh, there's all this fear and guilt and old memories, and all these things come rushing back, understandably so. And Jacob does everything that he knows to do. You have to read the story. He starts sending lavish gifts to his brother one at a time, like a parade, bringing all kinds of livestock to his brothers. And his brothers, like, why are you doing this? They're like, Oh, he just is so glad to see you, right? He's like, Don't kill us. Jacob even divides his family into two groups because he's afraid when his brother gets there, he's gonna wipe them out, so at least half his family would survive. And he prays and he plans. And then in Genesis chapter 32, there's this amazing evening where Jacob is all alone in the camp, waiting for this family reunion to happen. And scriptures tell us this in Genesis 32, starting in verse 24. This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob's hip and wrenched it out of socket. Then the man said, Let me go, for the dawn is breaking. But Jacob said, I will not let you go unless you bless me. What's your name? The man asked. He replied, Jacob, and he said, Your name will no longer be Jacob, the man told him. From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with man and with and with men and have won. Verse 29, please tell me your name, Jacob said. Why do you want to know my name? The man replied. And then he blessed Jacob there. Jacob named the place Peniel, which means face of God, for he said, I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared. There's a lot of wonderful biblical scholars over the centuries that have spent a lifetime unpacking the details of this particular interaction, and it's worth studying. There's a lot there. But for today's sake, let's go back to the question that I've been asking you to keep in mind as I'm sharing this story with you. What was God doing that Jacob couldn't yet see? What was God doing? Jacob probably thought he was wrestling for a blessing, but God was changing who Jacob was to become. Think about Jacob's entire life. A lot of grabbing, right? Grabbing his brother's heel, his birthright, his blessing, grabbing for control. He spent years trying to secure God's favor and his own strength, but somewhere, during this long night, everything changed. And for the first time, please hear, friends, for the first time in his life, Jacob stopped clinging to God for the gifts that he could bring and started clinging to God himself. Holding on. He's now a very different man. And remember that verse that we read earlier that I asked you not to forget? I will not leave you until I've finished. This is the moment. I think that's exactly what God meant back at Bethel. And I think this is what God has been doing patiently all along. Because Jacob finally surrendered. He finally surrendered. God wasn't taking something from Jacob that night, he was giving Jacob someone new to become. A new name, a new identity, a new understanding of who God is, a new way of walking with God. The God who met him was the God who stayed with him. And now it's the same God who changes him. And some of us are in a pineal season right now. Something deep inside of you. You can feel it, you can sense it. In your knower, you know God is trying to do a work in you. I don't know what that looks like. Maybe it's your pride. Maybe you need to lay down your need to control every single outcome. Maybe it's your dream that you've been holding on to that you need to submit to the Lord, or this version of yourself that you've always depended on, yet you know God is at work in you, and He's wanting to change you into the man or the woman that He has planned for you. And if we're honest, sometimes, friends, doesn't it feel like life's a big wrestling match? Does it ever feel that way? Some of you wrestled when you were younger. I never wrestled much. I was afraid to put a singlet on. Wrestling is tough. I've wrestled with my brothers a lot, and uh it's tough. Now I wrestle with my grandson. It's very hard to get up off the floor. It's amazing how far down the floor is these days. Sometimes, friends, the deepest evidence of God's love is that he loves us too much to let us remain unchanged. He loves you too much to allow you to continue to walk through life unchanged by him. Because the God who pursues us is the God who shapes us. And as we look back over Jacob's story, we can see how God was shaping him. And now each of these sacred stops in Jacob's story are part of us being able to see this reality and truth of who our God is and how faithful he is, and that he stays true to his promises. But now something is different. It's not the place, it's not even the promise, it's Jacob. This life that he has lived, all that God has been doing is starting to change him. So God made this promise and he kept that promise, and he's finishing this work that he's been doing all along. And finally, we arrive at the destination. And here's what's so interesting: the destination is the same place where he started. But the destination that we want to talk about today is not a geographic location, rather, it's a posture of his heart because Jacob becomes a worshiper. It's so different. God brings Jacob all the way back to where the journey began in Genesis chapter 35, verse 1. Then God said to Jacob, Get ready and move to Bethel and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau. So Jacob told everyone in his household, Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing. We are now going to Bethel, where I will build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone. See, he's starting to live the testimony out, and it's changing him. Eventually, Jacob and his household arrived at Luz, which we heard before, is now called Bethel in Canaan. Jacob built an altar there and named the place El Bethel, which means God of Bethel, because God had appeared to him there when he was fleeing from his brother Esau. Did you notice what happened here? I told you, pay attention, right? Pay attention to the word uh memorial. And here we see a change. God brings Jacob all the way back to where the journey began. It's not by accident. The place hadn't changed, God hadn't changed, it's now Jacob who's changed. And for the first time, or in the first, when the first time when he was at Bethel, he built a memorial. And this time it's different because Jacob this time builds an altar. And friends, they aren't the same thing. Memorials are built to remember what God has done. Altars are built to surrender to who God is. Memorials say, look at what God did. Altars say, God, I am yours. Memorials help us remember altars then are built for us to worship. And here's what I don't want us to miss in this story. Jacob did not become a worshiper because someone convinced him to be a worshiper. Jacob became a worshiper because over 35 years God had continued to prove himself faithful. That doesn't mean life was easy. And that doesn't mean that there weren't challenges along this journey, but God met him, he stayed with him, and he changed him. Our faith doesn't grow, friends, because we try harder. Our faith grows because God continues to be faithful year after year, circumstance after circumstance. And somewhere along the journey, Jacob, like you and I, need to do this too. Jacob stopped chasing God's blessings and started wanting God Himself. It's a big difference. So, church, the destination wasn't Bethel, the destination was worship. And Jacob's story, thousands of years old. But I don't think it's all that different from your story and mine. I really don't. Every one of us is somewhere along this journey. Maybe you're in the first Bethel season or Laban or Pineal. But let me ask you this question one last time. What is God doing in you right now? Right now, that if you don't pay attention to, you will miss? Right now, what is it that God is doing? Because at the time, Jacob thought just God was changing his circumstances, but as we look back at his story, we can see God was actually changing him. So what's interesting to me, and I've left out so much of the story, guys, is uh not that when he gets to this point, things just all work out for him. When you read the story, you will see it's not that way as uh at all. You remember that beautiful gal that he worked 14 years for? His beloved wife died during childbirth to her second son. One of Jacob's daughters was um horrifically uh mistreated by a bunch of men from another village. His journey of life was tough. And and next week I gotta share with you a little of the story of one of his sons. Not an easy life. But through all of the circumstances of his life, what he learned is that this God that keeps pursuing me is this God who is changing me. And so as I've been praying this week about how to land this today, there's two real things that I want us to think about as we wrap up. And the first one is for someone that's here today that's been praying desperately for a friend or a family member who seems far from God, and you've been praying for a while. So much so that you maybe want to throw in the towel on this. You're wondering where is God and is it even possible at this point because they seem so far away from him. Uh, maybe it's a son or a daughter, a grandchild, a spouse, a friend, someone who's whose heart just seems completely unmoved at this point in their life. And I want to encourage you with something that I just really felt resonated with me this week as I was praying about the story and how we would wrap up our time today. Can I encourage you that as you look at his story, that you not give up on someone else's story? Because our God hasn't given up. He's a God that continues to pursue. And if God could patiently pursue Jacob for decades, he can do this for your loved ones and your friends too. So don't lose hope. Don't lose hope. He is still pursuing these people that you love because that's who our God is. Don't mistake God's patience for his absence. He's long-suffering in this too, and he will continue to chase after these people we're praying for. And he may still be doing a work, a work that oftentimes you and I can't even see. Because that's what happened to Jacob. And ultimately, if you think about your story, that's your story too. Aren't you glad people didn't give up on you? So let's remember Jacob's story that over the decades God continued to pursue him, or God was faithful to his promises, and God continued to shape him. Until this journey ends, that man that was running became a man who was worshiping. And maybe the greatest evidence that God has been shaping you isn't, please hear this, isn't that your circumstances changed. Maybe it's that you changed. Somewhere along this journey, you stopped chasing God's blessings and started wanting God Himself, just like Jacob did. You see, that's when memorials become altars in your life too, where remembering becomes worship, and when your faith stops being built on what God does and can do for you, but instead your faith starts by being built on who God is. And that's who you want. That's who you hold on to. Because God's greatest work was never merely the things that are happening around the periphery of your life, but rather it's always what's happening within you. And it's highly likely that this is exactly what God is doing in you in spite of the complexities and difficulties that life can bring. But I want you to spend a few moments just reflecting, first of all, on what he's done, but then also what he's doing in you. What is it that you might be missing right now that God is doing? And it might be a tough season for you. It might be some really hard things that you're walking through, but God wants to continue to do this work of changing us.

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Thanks again for listening. Our prayer is that this message encouraged and challenged you in your journey to follow Jesus. If you'd like to learn more about our church, please check us out online at plumcreek.church or if you find yourself within driving distance of Castle Rock, Colorado, we would be honored to see you in person on a weekend. So until next time, grace and peace in the name of Jesus.