Right now, you might be in a wrestle like Jacob.

Maybe you are greatly afraid and distressed.

Whenever we put our deepest hopes into anything other than God,

eventually we wake up and we realize it's not enough.

Remember, Jesus is not wrestling against us.

He wrestled for us, he has said it is finished.

When I was a kid, I used to think that life worked something like this.

You make good plans, you try hard, you choose the right, you have a perfect life. But life has a way of throwing you curveballs, like a serious health challenge comes your way.

Or you graduate from college, but you're not married and you don't have a job.

Or you fall in love with the person that you love doesn't love you.

Or you're married and you have kids, but you're struggling with the happily ever after.

So often in life, we struggle, and today we're going to see several people who struggle.

We'll talk about Rebecca's leap, Esau's trade, Isaac's blessing, Jacob's Ladder, Leah's heartbreak, and Israel's wrestle.

Each of these people are trying to fill a hole in their heart,

and Genesis will show us what works and what doesn't. So let's start with Rebecca's leap.

As Genesis 24 begins, Abraham is now very old. His wife, Sarah, has passed away, and Abraham has

one basic goal left, finding a wife for his son Isaac.

Abraham doesn't want Isaac to marry a local Canaanite woman.

That would be like marrying outside of the covenant.

So Abraham sends his servant back to the land of Abraham's ancestors

to find a wife for Isaac.

It was a lot of work.

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