When Jacob arrived in Bethel, God appeared to Jacob again and said, "Your name is Jacob; You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel. I am God Almighty; Be fruitful and multiply; A nation and company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come forth from you. And the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, and I will give the land to your descendants after you." (Genesis 35:9-12). After God spoke to him, Jacob built an altar to worship God. Then Rachel became pregnant for a second time. She bore another son and named him Benjamin, but she suffered severe labor that she died. After Jacob buried Rachel, he visited his father, Isaac. Isaac was 180 years old and about to die. So Esau and Jacob came together to say goodbye for the last time and buried him at a good old age. After the burial, Esau moved back to Edom, which was southwest of where Jacob lived. (Genesis 35:1-29).
Despite all the things that happened to Jacob and his family, God was with Jacob all the time. Through failure, difficult situations, pain, and loss, God never abandoned him. Jacob learned to trust God's faithfulness in the deepest and darkest hours of his life. When his sons committed murder, his wife that he loved died, and his father died, God never abandoned him, but God was with him and comforting him. God helped Jacob to move on and continued with his life and fulfilled God's promise. God's promised to Abraham that he would be a great nation would be fulfilled through Jacob and his descendants.
As believers, when we go through pain and suffering, we need to remind ourselves that our God is with us. All of us will go through pain and suffering, but that does not mean that God has abandoned us or doesn't care about us. We go through pain and suffering because it is part of living in this sinful world. Eventually, our bodies will give up, but it is not the end of us because God has prepared an excellent place for us called heaven. When we go through pain and suffering, let us look up to Jesus and trust in His faithfulness, and He will pull us through. He will then help us to move on and continue to work in our lives and fulfill what He has called us to do.
Ask yourself these questions: What should I do when I go through pain and suffering? Does God abandon me when I go through pain and suffering? Do I believe that God never leaves me?
Write down all the worries that you are facing today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Father in heaven, thank you for your faithfulness in my life. Thank you for always being there for me. Please help me to trust in you completely, especially when life is difficult and lots of challenges. Please give me the wisdom and strength to face the challenges that I will encounter today. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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