If God had not been with me

“Except the God of my father ... had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away empty.” - Genesis 31v42

It is interesting to watch the spiritual growth in the life of Jacob. In many ways he had reaped what he had sown. The trickster had been tricked. Laban had given him years of misery and now the time had come for Jacob to return to Canaan.

Once again Laban tried to get what he could out of Jacob. Jacob had some basic measure of faith in his expression here - “If God were not with me I would have nothing from you,” he told Laban. Jacob had realised that what he had was not of his own manipulations and trickery. He had what he had because God had given it to him.

How do we view what we have? It is so easy to say that we have this or that because of what we have done. We can look around at the things we have and be pleased at what we have achieved. Yet, even Jacob, not yet where he should be spiritually, had the wisdom to know that what he had was because God was with him. May we thank God today for all the He has done and realise that apart from Him we would indeed have nothing.