Weekly Readings: Genesis 28:10-32:2; Hosea 12:13-14:10; John 1:19-51

Like Jacob, submitting to God may not come easily to us. It might take years - even decades - in the wilderness for God to get through to us. But through the hardship, we need to remember that God disciplines those he loves.

Jacob

Brought up by a faithful, God-fearing father, Jacob was a typical child of rebellion, whose every action seemed to push against the path God had marked out for him. He was a double-dealer from birth, emerging from the womb grabbing onto his brother's heel (a picture of deception and dishonesty). Encouraged by his mother Rebekah, Jacob continued to manipulate into adulthood, eventually cheating his elder brother Esau out of his birth-right.

On the run from his brother, it took Jacob twenty wilderness years of hard, oppressive labour (during which he received a taste of his own medicine, being cheated repeatedly by his uncle Laban) and a wrestling match with God (Gen 32), before he began to really learn how to walk in humble submission. Like a wild horse needing to be broken in, so Jacob had to undergo a painful time of discipline in order to become the person God intended him to be – Israel.

Leah

Leah, Jacob's first wife, needed to be 'broken' for an altogether different reason. Unwanted and unloved by her husband, she was driven by a deep desire to win Jacob's heart away from her sister Rachel. As she bore Jacob son after son, each time she hoped that the child would win him to her ("Now this time my husband will become attached to me..." Gen 29:33-34).

Her jealous resistance finally broke down when Judah, her fourth son, was born. Leah surrendered her broken heart to God in a declaration that "This time I will praise the Lord". Beautifully, out of Jacob's 12 sons, it was through Judah that God chose to bring the Messiah, Jesus, nearly 2,000 years later.

Struggling Against God

Like Jacob, submitting to God may not come easily to us. Our natural instinct may be to struggle against him, or to work in our own strength to bring in his 'provision'. It might take years - even decades - in the wilderness for God's discipline to get through to us.

Or, like Leah, our impulse might be to seek fulfilment and self-worth in something other than God – and only repeated, painful experiences of disappointment will change us. No matter how much we struggle, God's strength and endurance far exceed our own and, in the end, will always win. How long, then, will we 'kick against the goads'? (Acts 26:14)

Those He Loves

As God patiently works to change our hearts, we must remember this one thing: he disciplines those he loves. "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children...No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace." (Heb 12:7-12)

In Hosea, the same message is portrayed as a romance: God draws his people out into the wilderness in order to woo them, that they might rediscover his love and receive his comfort and blessing (2:14-23). Be encouraged, if this is you today.