Understanding God's Role in Our Prosperity
In Genesis 30, we encounter a fascinating story of shrewd business dealings between Jacob and his father-in-law Laban. Both men are intelligent, resourceful, and skilled at making deals. Yet only one emerges victorious. This passage teaches us a crucial truth: you cannot prosper without God's help.
Why Do Some People Seem to Have All the Advantages?
Jacob and Laban were remarkably similar. Both were smart businessmen who knew how to negotiate and scheme. Both understood how to work the system to their advantage. The key difference? Jacob had God on his side, while Laban did not.
God had promised Jacob at Bethel that He would be with him, multiply his descendants, and make him prosper. This divine backing made all the difference in their business relationship.
How Does God Give Us the Upper Hand?
God Gives Us a Heavenly Focus
After fourteen years of working for Laban, Jacob still considered his homeland his true home. He told Laban, "Send me away, that I may go to my own place and to my country." Despite living in Haran for so long, Jacob's heart remained focused on the land God had promised him.
This heavenly focus gave Jacob tremendous negotiating power. Since he had no attachment to anything Laban could offer, Laban couldn't manipulate or control him. Jacob was looking toward a better country - one that God had promised.
As Christians, we should cultivate this same heavenly perspective. When we remember that our true citizenship is in heaven, the world's offerings lose their power over us.
God Uses Us to Bless Others
Laban desperately wanted Jacob to stay because he had become incredibly wealthy since Jacob's arrival. Laban even admitted, "The Lord has blessed me for your sake." Jacob's presence had transformed Laban's modest operation into a thriving business.
This principle applies to Christian employees today. When we work with integrity, diligence, and excellence - not to please earthly bosses but to serve our heavenly Master - we become invaluable to our employers. We should be the kind of employees our bosses would do anything to keep.
Why Does God Sometimes Remove Our Advantages?
When Jacob negotiated his wages, he made what seemed like a modest request: he would take only the speckled, spotted, and unusually colored animals from Laban's flocks. This appeared to be a great deal for Laban since such animals were rare.
But Laban, ever the schemer, immediately removed all the abnormally colored animals and gave them to his sons, placing them three days' journey away. He left Jacob with only the normal-colored animals, making it seemingly impossible for Jacob to breed the kind of livestock he wanted.
God often works this way in our lives. He removes our natural advantages and obvious paths to success so that when blessing comes, there's no question about who deserves the credit. Like Gideon's army being reduced from 32,000 to 300 men, God sometimes makes our situation look impossible so His power can be clearly displayed.
What About Jacob's Strange Breeding Methods?
The passage describes Jacob placing striped branches in the watering troughs, believing this would influence the animals to produce spotted and striped offspring. This was based on ancient superstitions that had no scientific basis - essentially old wives' tales about animal breeding.
Jacob was simply doing the best he could with the knowledge available in his time. However, the real reason for his success is revealed later in Genesis 31, where Jacob explains that God appeared to him in a dream and showed him that it was divine intervention, not his methods, that caused the flocks to produce the desired offspring.
How Do We Know God Controls Our Success?
Jacob later revealed that Laban had changed his wages ten times during their six-year agreement. Each time Laban tried to cheat Jacob by changing the terms, God supernaturally caused the flocks to produce exactly the type of animals that would benefit Jacob instead of Laban.
This demonstrates that our prosperity doesn't depend on our techniques, expertise, or intelligence. While God may use these things, ultimately He alone is the source of all blessing and success.
What Does This Mean for Churches and Ministries?
Churches can have excellent music, welcoming atmospheres, clean facilities, and creative programs. But unless God is present and working, none of these efforts will produce lasting spiritual fruit. As Psalm 127:1 reminds us, "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it."
The same principle applies to our personal endeavors. We can have all our plans perfectly arranged, but without God's blessing, our efforts are ultimately futile.
Life Application
This week, examine your attitude toward your possessions, job, and achievements. Remember that every blessing in your life comes from God, not from your own efforts or cleverness. Whether you feel like you have little or much, recognize that God is the ultimate source of all provision.
If you're feeling discouraged because your efforts aren't producing the results you want, take comfort in knowing that God controls all outcomes. If you're tempted to take credit for your success, remember that it's God who has given you the ability to prosper.
Ask yourself these questions:
Am I trying to succeed through my own schemes and methods, or am I trusting God for my provision?
Do I maintain a heavenly focus that keeps me from being manipulated by worldly offers?
Am I the kind of employee, family member, or church member that others recognize as blessed by God?
When good things happen in my life, do I give God the credit, or do I take pride in my own accomplishments?
The challenge for this week is simple: acknowledge God as the source of every blessing in your life and live with the confidence that comes from knowing He is in control of your prosperity.