Genesis 28:1-2

And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother’s father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother’s brother.

The next stretch of Genesis is really the story of God dealing with Jacob. In chapter 28, Jacob is saved. In chapters 29 through 32, he is subdued. In chapters 33 and 34, he is separated. In chapter 35, he is sanctified. God is not merely moving Jacob from one location to another. He is working on the man himself.

That begins here.

Isaac calls Jacob, blesses him, charges him, and sends him away to Padanaram to find a wife from among his own people. Abraham sent a servant to get a bride for Isaac. Isaac sends Jacob himself. That is interesting to me because it shows again that God does not work the exact same way in every life.

Isaac’s story was not Jacob’s story.

Jacob’s story would not be Joseph’s story.

And your story is not going to look exactly like mine either.

We are all saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. That never changes. The ground is level at the foot of the Cross. But the way the Lord works that salvation out in each of us can look very different. Paul said in Philippians 2:12 to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. He did not say to copy somebody else’s path. He did not say to force your walk into somebody else’s mold. He said to work out your own salvation.

That does not mean we work for salvation. It means what God has worked in, He now works out. He shapes it. He proves it. He deepens it. He brings it into the daily stuff of life. And that process is not always going to look the same from person to person.

Some people come to the Lord and seem to grow fast and straight. Others limp a little. Others wrestle for years. Others have to learn through hardship, disappointment, and brokenness. Jacob is going to learn through all of that. God is going to save him, but He is also going to humble him, strip him, separate him, and sanctify him. It will not be quick, but it will be real.

I think we need to remember that when we look at one another. We can be too quick to measure someone else’s walk by our own experience. But God is a wise Father. He knows exactly how to deal with each of His kids. He knows what to allow, what to remove, what to confront, and what to wait on. He knows how to get at the stubborn places in me, and He knows how to get at the stubborn places in you. And those methods may not look the same.

That gives me freedom.

It gives me freedom not to panic when God is working differently in somebody else’s life.

It gives me freedom not to compare my story to theirs.

It gives me freedom to trust that within the boundaries of grace and faith, God really does deal with His people uniquely.

Jacob is setting out to find a bride, but the deeper story is that God is setting out to make a man. And that is often the way it is. We think we are heading toward one thing, while all along God is doing something deeper than we even realize. He is not only directing our steps. He is shaping our souls.

So give people space.

Give God time.

And give yourself grace.

The Lord who saved you is still working on you. And He knows exactly what He is doing.