上帝永远爱我们，也必成就对我们的旨意。

He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

那在你们心里动了善工的，必成全这工，直到耶稣基督的日子。-腓立比书1章6节

I got myself into this mess, so I’d better get myself out, I sometimes find myself thinking.  Although I believe in a God of grace, I’m still prone to act as if His help is available only when I deserve it.

有时我会这样想：事情是我搞砸的，所以我需要自己解决。虽然我相信上帝满有恩典，却仍然认为只有在我配得的时候，才能得到上帝的帮助。

God’s first encounter with Jacob is a beautiful illustration of how untrue this is. Jacob had spent a lifetime trying to alter his destiny. He’d been born second at a time when firstborn sons typically received their father’s blessing—believed to guarantee future prosperity.

其实我这样的想法是错误的，从上帝和雅各的第一次相遇便可知道。雅各极力尝试扭转自己的命运。因为雅各排行第二，在他的时代，长子才能得到父亲特别的祝福，而人们相信这能保证未来繁荣昌盛。

So Jacob decided to do whatever it would take to get his father’s blessing anyway. Eventually, he succeeded—through deceit—obtaining the blessing intended for his brother (Genesis 27:19–29).

于是，雅各不惜一切代价，争取他父亲的祝福。最后，他成功地骗取了原属于他哥哥的祝福（创世记27章19-29节）。

But the price was a divided family, as Jacob fled from his furious brother (vv. 41–43). As night descended (28:11), Jacob must have felt as far from a life of blessing as ever.

但这代价却是家庭分裂，雅各不得不逃离大发雷霆的哥哥（41-43节）。随着夜晚降临（28章11节），雅各一定感到自己根本没有蒙福。

But it was there, leaving behind a trail of deception, that Jacob met God. God showed him he didn’t need desperate schemes to be blessed; he already was. His destiny—a purpose far greater than material prosperity (v. 14)—was held securely by the One who would never leave him (v. 15).

纵然雅各一再欺骗，但就在那里，他遇见了上帝。上帝让他明白，他无须千方百计地夺取祝福，因他早已蒙福。上帝告诉雅各，他的一生有个超越物质丰富的目的（14节），并且上帝永远不会离弃他，也必会成就这应许（15节）。

It was a lesson Jacob would spend his whole life learning. And so will we. No matter how many regrets we carry or how distant God seems, He is still there—gently guiding us out of our mess into His blessing.

这是雅各和我们一生都要学习的功课。无论我们有多少遗憾或感觉上帝看似甚远，但祂仍然与我们同在。即使我们将事情搞砸了，祂仍能温柔地引导我们得到祂的赐福。

亲爱的天父，我们常常陷入自己所造成的错误之中，觉得自己没有了未来。求主让我们记得祢是雅各的神，祢永远不会放弃对我们所怀的旨意。

Genesis 28:10-22   NIV

28 Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. 11 When he reached a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. 12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. 13 There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. 14 Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. 15 I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” 16 When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” 17 He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.” 18 Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. 19 He called that place Bethel, though the city used to be called Luz. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

创世记 28:10-22 

28 雅各出了别是巴，向哈兰走去。 11 到了一个地方，因为太阳落了，就在那里住宿，便拾起那地方的一块石头枕在头下，在那里躺卧睡了。 12 梦见一个梯子立在地上，梯子的头顶着天，有神的使者在梯子上上去下来。 13 耶和华站在梯子以上，说：“我是耶和华你祖亚伯拉罕的神，也是以撒的神，我要将你现在所躺卧之地赐给你和你的后裔。 14 你的后裔必像地上的尘沙那样多，必向东西南北开展。地上万族必因你和你的后裔得福。 15 我也与你同在，你无论往哪里去，我必保佑你，领你归回这地，总不离弃你，直到我成全了向你所应许的。” 16 雅各睡醒了，说：“耶和华真在这里，我竟不知道！” 17 就惧怕，说：“这地方何等可畏！这不是别的，乃是神的殿，也是天的门。” 18 雅各清早起来，把所枕的石头立做柱子，浇油在上面。 19 他就给那地方起名叫伯特利，但那地方起先名叫路斯。 20 雅各许愿说：“神若与我同在，在我所行的路上保佑我，又给我食物吃、衣服穿， 21 使我平平安安地回到我父亲的家，我就必以耶和华为我的神， 22 我所立为柱子的石头也必做神的殿。凡你所赐给我的，我必将十分之一献给你。”

整理：于姊妹