Partnering with God

36 And he set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks.

37 And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.

38 And he set the rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came to drink.

39 And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.

40 And Jacob did separate the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto Laban's cattle.

41 And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the rods.

42 But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.

43 And the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses. Genesis 30:36-43

When we imaging what it looks like to partner with God, many times we can either take Him for granted or rely too little on our own effort. If we only do things on our own strength and to fulfill our agenda but label it as God's, then we are taking God for granted. If we wait upon the Lord to tell us what to do and yet do nothing, we are not making use of the talents that God has given us.

Jesus teaches us in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25) that we are expected to go about doing His business, and that in doing so we would be fulfilling Our Father's will. Those who put in the effort were rewarded.

In Jacob's case, we know that God instructed him to return back to the land of his father Isaac, and to also be fruitful and multiply. In order to do this Jacob had to fulfill his labor commitments to his brother-in-law Laban, while building his own wealth so that he could support his family. So how did Jacob partner with God? Jacob used his skills as a breeder to enlarge his flock, and God continually increased His wealth. It was a combination of Jacob's effort and God's favor.

How can we partner with God?

1. Seek Him to know His will for your life. Each of us are given a special assignment. Although we may all have the same mandate, you will have a niche assignment from the Lord that He wants you to fulfill. Seek the Lord so that this instruction will be made known.

2. Put forth your full heart so that the Lord may bless you. In the same way that Jacob used his skills in breeding to enlarge his flock, you will be able to use your talents so that God may bless what you do. The favor of God is what you will have when you are doing what He asks, using the talents that He gave you.

3. Persevere so that He can strengthen you for the trials you will face. Jacob wrestled with the Lord the evening he was about to encounter his brother Esau (Genesis 32). Meeting Esau was a critical meeting for Jacob that would determine his fate, and the fate of the people of Israel. Jacob knew that he deceived his brother 20 years ago, and was about to set things straight. In a way, the victory that Jacob experienced wrestling with the Lord brought him both strength and humility. Yes, he had prevailed by not letting go of God, but also God had injured his hip so that Jacob would not be prideful in his victory. Possibly this injury also meant that Jacob could not run from the confrontation with his brother Esau.

It ended up being a bittersweet reunion with his brother. Jacob was diplomatic in his dealings and showed both strength and humility to his brother. This greeting gave Jacob entrance into Canaan, the land of his father Isaac, and the promised land of the Lord.

Father,

My desire is to complete your assignment for my life while partnering with you. Help me to persevere by placing trials before me that prepare me for what lies ahead. I do not mind wrestling and I will not back down from the struggle. Bless me Lord and grant me favor all of my days.