(Genesis 30: 31-43, 31:38-43)
In our text above, Jacob, the child of the future, presented his curriculum vitae to Laban, his uncle and master. He was saying to Laban that he had helped him to prosper exceedingly and had served him faithfully and now it was his (Jacob’s) turn to be blessed.
Jacob had served Laban for 20 years, 14 of which had been in order to marry Laban’s daughters, Leah and Racheal, and another six when he found out that he was totally broke and he needed money.
Jacob had run away from his parents’ to Laban at the time his brother, Esau, was after him. Along the way, after experiencing some problems, he had made a covenant with God that if God would preserve his life and prosper him, he would serve Him. When he came back from this sojourn at Laban’s house, he told Esau that the Lord had blessed him; that he left his country empty and he came back full and that he was a child of blessing.
There comes a time in the life of every individual when you need to come out on your own and come of age. For different people, this comes at different times and different stages of their lives. The time for a man’s blessings comes at different ages or stages in lives. For a man called Abraham, his time came at the age of 75. For Isaac, his son, his turn came at the age of 60. Jacob’s turn came around the age of 60. For Joseph, it was 30. For Moses, 80; and for David, 30. Unfortunately for some people, it comes rather late and they end up spending the rest of their life in despair and depression.
A blessing is a basic need of man. It is a foundational requirement for his existence. If you are not blessed, then you are lacking a fundamental need and your life is incomplete. Genesis 1:27 tells us that when God made man, he gave him five basic components: life, physical health and strength, mental health and capability, spiritual competence, and financial competence. God knew that man will not survive without any of these basic needs. You cannot live a good and fruitful life, if you are not blessed. With blessings comes fruitfulness and multiplication. Ezekiel 34: 26-27 tells us of the promises of God to bless us. There is no honour, there is no respect, and there is no gratification in poverty. The word ‘blessing’ also means favour, an invocation of happiness, and a benefit. A blessing means to invite divine favour upon someone. Without God’s divine favour upon you, you cannot survive. It is God’s favour that brings about opportunities and success.
How to get blessed
You are born blessed. If your father is blessed, then you are blessed, except you change your mind about being blessed. Genesis 26:3 tells us that the Lord blessed Isaac as a realisation of the covenant with Abraham, his father. Similarly, if your forefathers are cursed, then you are also under a curse.
Obedience to God. In Genesis 26:5, God explained to Isaac why he blessed Abraham. Disobedience can deny you of your blessings and lead to a curse. Deuteronomy 28: 1-14 says many things about obedience and blessings.
Blessed environment. Similarly, you may be cursed if you are living in a city that is under a curse. 2 Kings 2: 19-22 tells us the story of the cursed city of Jericho. Because the city was under a cause, there was no fruitfulness and everyone living in the city was barren.
Exchange. In Genesis 27: 1-4, the Bible says that Isaac asked Esau for savoury meat in exchange for a blessing. Every time you give your parents something and they pronounce a blessing on you, then you are blessed. If you are nice to people who can invoke a command of blessing on your life, then you can be blessed. By blessing people such as your parents, your pastor, your boss, an elderly relative and the poor, you are invoking a blessing on your own life. Job said that he was blessed because he blessed others (Job 29: 2-13).
Born again. Regardless of whatever you might possess now, if you are not yet born again, then you are not blessed. All the wealth that you have gathered has been gathered for the princes of God to acquire. A lot of people experience sleepless nights, and various losses and go through several tensions because they are not born again. When you give your life to God, the blessings will begin to flow through every area of your life.
Activating blessings
It is one thing for someone to pronounce a blessing over your life and it is another thing for you to activate it. If you do not activate your blessings, then that blessing is empty. The blessing is an instruction sent to somebody who is spiritually, mentally and physically ready to receive it. Since the day that Jacob left his father’s house, he had been blessed. But Jacob didn’t activate his blessings and for 20 years nothing happened in his life. How did Jacob activate his blessings?
He laboured hard for 20 years. What does this mean? You start to activate your blessings when you say that enough is enough. You cannot be blessed unless you desire to be blessed. You must want to get out of your present circumstances.
Jacob changed the terms of his employment. He got out of paid employment and started working on commission. To activate your blessings, you need to begin to do something that God can bless you with. A lot of people want to be blessed, but are so lazy and are not ready to do anything that God can bless them with. You are even more blessed when you are doing something that you enjoy and that God has given you a natural ability for.
You must study your area of enterprise. Knowledge is power. The difference between poverty and wealth is knowledge. Jacob’s blessings came when he got divine revelation about his business. Every good business and ministry must get new information.
You must have a great vision. Jacob began to be blessed when he began to dream. The same energy it takes to have small dreams is what it will take to have big dreams.
You must move from being a baby to an adult, from walking to flying, from being dependent to being a person that people are depending on, from being a servant to being a leader. You must move from being an employee to being an employer.