Shortcuts are tempting. God does not operate on our preferred timelines, so when we see an opportunity to take matters into our hands, we often do. But there are consequences for not waiting...we typically only end up bringing misery on ourselves and on the people we love.

The seeds that Jacob sowed in his life were those of deception and treachery. Now, in today’s session, you will see the kind of harvest that
would produce in his life. For Jacob was about to meet his match in deception in the form of an uncle named Laban.

For Jacob, home was not a place of peace but one of continual crisis. All the while, he had to live with a louse—his uncle Laban. Jacob proved to be strategic in his interactions with Laban, trusting in God and making decisions motivated by faith rather than fear.

Jacob stayed on the run from Esau for twenty years. But God made it apparent to him that he would have to stop taking flight and instead fight.
The Lord appeared to Jacob and wrestled with him throughout the night. It was a bout that would forever change his life.

Sometimes God is explicit about the course that he wants us to take. In Jacob’s case, he told him to go back to Bethel. Instead, Jacob landed in the shadow of Shechem. It would prove to be a costly wrong move—perhaps the costliest of his life.