After Jacob stole the birthright and the blessing from his brother Esau, he fled to Paddan-Aram and stayed at the home of his uncle Laban, who was his mother’s brother. When he arrived, he fell in love with Rachel, Laban’s youngest daughter. So smitten was he that he agreed to work for seven years to earn the right to marry her. Though he labored faithfully for the entire span, his uncle was crafty and he tricked Jacob by giving him the wrong wife. Upon waking up on the morning after their wedding, he discovered that he had actually married Rachel’s older sister Leah, to whom he was not nearly as attracted. However, because he truly loved Rachel and wanted to be with her, he agreed to work another seven years in the service of Laban, who assured him that he would give him Rachel’s hand at the end of the week of his wedding to Leah. Though this and other attempts on Laban’s part to steal and manipulate could have stolen Jacob’s favor, he was continually blessed and ended up with 13 children, many servants, and lots of livestock.

Friend, the moral of this story is that all of the trickery and injustice Jacob endured in a distant land blessed him in the end. It was being away from home and facing fear and injustice that eventually made him a very wealthy man. Because he stayed in that place of discomfort, the Lord’s goodness was manifest in spite of the mistreatment of his uncle. Although Laban tried to interrupt it, there was nothing that could hold back the rivers of God’s favor in his life. Similarly, when you are being treated unfairly and you faithfully remain in the place God has you, He will bring His blessings to your midst, often in an unconventional and surprising manner!