Genesis 30:22-30

²² Then God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her prayers and opened her womb.

²³ She conceived and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.”

²⁴ And she called his name Joseph,[1] saying, “May the LORD add to me another son!”

²⁵ As soon as Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my own home and country.

²⁶ Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, that I may go, for you know the service that I have given you.”

²⁷ But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me for your sake.

²⁸ Designate your desired wages, and I will give it.”

²⁹ Jacob said to him, “You yourself know how I have served you, and how your livestock has done well with me here.

³⁰ For you had little before I came, and it has increased abundantly, and the LORD has blessed you wherever I turned. But now when shall I provide for my own household also?”

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trusting within the trial

Jacob’s household must have been an extremely toxic environment. Even the names of his children were reminders of a bitter rivalry between two mothers for his affections and respect . Added to that, Jacob himself felt like a servant. His father-in-law was in control, and Jacob was quite certain that Laban’s prosperity was due to his joining the team. So, Jacob wants to break away. Yet Laban does not want him to go. He is willing to pay more for Jacob to stay among his people.

Life gets complicated, and sometimes family is at the root of that complication. Sometimes families get broken from the outside, and sometimes they break apart from within. Sometimes your family can be a healing force, sometimes it can feel like a disease. Sometimes the pain gets so bad that it controls your life, and all you want to escape. Sometimes escape is the answer.

For Jacob, though, the time was not right for him to break away. He had been sent to Laban to protect him from another family rivalry. His staying with and working for Laban protected him from the vengeance of Esau. God would provide a release for Jacob. Until then, Jacob had to learn to trust within the trial.

LORD, for those caught in a toxic life situation, give them discernment to know when escape is your will, and when they should stay and trust you to protect them from within the trial.

[1] Joseph: he increases.