Thrive

“Imagine Taking the Initiative"

Genesis 28:10-22

Romans 15:4, “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.”

Between a rock and a hard place? Take the Initiative:  

(1) WAKE UP

v10, “Meanwhile, Jacob left Beersheba…”

v12, “As he slept, he dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth up to heaven…”

v16, Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!”

Ephesians 5:14, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”

(2) GET UP

v18a, “The next morning Jacob got up very early.”

v17a, “But he was also afraid…”

“It’s not too late to change the story that you’ll tell one day. You can start something new. No matter how desperate, uncertain, afraid or stuck you may feel right now, your story isn’t over. It’s not too late to change!”

- Craig Groeschel, Divine Direction

 Zechariah 4:10, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…”

(3) STEP UP

v20-21, Then Jacob made this vow: “If God will indeed be with me and protect me … and if he will provide … and if I return safely… then the Lord will certainly be my God.” 

Ephesians 3:20, “Far more abundantly that what you can think, ask or imagine…”

James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from above, coming down from the Father of light with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”  

Philippians 1:6, “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”

Final Thought:  Even when I take the initiative with God—I discover that it was God who was always taking the initiative with me.