A Biblical Picture Of God

One of the great figures we read a lot about in the Bible is Jacob. Jacob is a prominent character in the book of Genesis and he is known for being shrewd and conniving but also for getting himself into some bad spots. The Bible tells his story as it was, both the good and the bad, and allows us to follow him as he figures out life and matures into a man of God.

He calls upon God and refers to Him in a way that hints to us who God is and how He works.

Genesis 35:3

Let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”

If you read that verse carefully you will see that God is revealed to us in that sentence. Jacob doesn’t call God “The God who made life easy for me by making my hard times go away” or “The God who saved me from suffering the consequences of a sinful and fallen world where people make bad decisions.”

No. To Jacob, God is made real in the way He rides through those tough times with us and comforts us in our distress.

God answered Jacob. Not by making his problems go away but by using Jacob’s struggles and trials to shape him into a man of prayer and godliness.

The truth is that we live in a world that has rejected the goodness of God. This is a world where bad people make bad decisions every day and you and I suffer the consequences for their actions. We are a part of this rebellion. We make our own bad decisions and continually act surprised when a world that rejects and despises God acts like a godless world.

The key, for Jacob, was to turn to God and follow Him. He saw that only God makes sense out of this world and only He can carry us through those times where we have few answers and no other place to turn.

Are you going through a struggle right now? Turn to God, not away from Him. He alone understands and He alone knows you perfectly. He alone can get you through it.

Psalms 34:17-19

“The righteous cry, and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.”