有时候，神会把我们放在一个自己无法掌控的环境中，来使我们谦卑。
对雅各来说，这种谦卑开始于他自己的家庭。他的舅舅诱骗他和自己不爱的利亚结婚，造成了她和拉结争抢雅各的爱。在利亚开始有孩子后，这种争斗比任何时候都强烈。任何不孕不育的挣扎都是非常痛苦的，拉结的反应是可以预见的苦毒。
尽管雅各指出，他无法减轻拉结的痛苦，他向拉结生气。雅各像我们许多人一样，习惯倚靠自己的能力来解决问题。但无法帮助拉结，这让他很受挫，这又导致了他去挫败和伤害周围的人。倚靠自己的能力往往会这样。
但雅各的话比他自己知道的更真实：“我岂能代替（神）呢？”虽然他还没有完全领会到这一真理，但这些话显出雅各越来越意识到自己不是神，生活超出了他的掌控。
当我们发现自己处于无法掌控的境地，我们可能会沮丧——也会使他人沮丧。或者我们可以承认，自己不是神，我们就可以开始拥抱祂恩典的看顾。
全能的神啊，一切美善都单单来自于你。我们承认，我们喜欢把事情抓在自己手中，使自己和他人都感到沮丧。求你教导我们单单依靠你，奉耶稣的名，阿们。
创世记 29:31-30:2
31耶和华见利亚失宠，就使她生育，拉结却不生育。
32利亚怀孕生子，就给他起名叫鲁本，因而说：“耶和华看见我的苦情，如今我的丈夫必爱我。”
33她又怀孕生子，就说：“耶和华因为听见我失宠，所以又赐给我这个儿子。”于是给他起名叫西缅。
34她又怀孕生子，起名叫利未，说：“我给丈夫生了三个儿子，他必与我联合。”
35她又怀孕生子，说：“这回我要赞美耶和华。”因此给他起名叫犹大。这才停了生育。
1拉结见自己不给雅各生子，就嫉妒她姐姐，对雅各说：“你给我孩子，不然我就死了。”
2雅各向拉结生气，说：“叫你不生育的是神，我岂能代替他做主呢？”
"When Rachel saw that she was not bearing Jacob any children, she became jealous of her sister." - Genesis 30:2
Sometimes God humbles us by putting us in situations beyond our control.
For Jacob, this humbling began with his own family. His uncle tricked him into a marriage with Leah, whom he failed to love, creating a rivalry with Rachel for his affection. Nowhere was this rivalry felt more strongly than when Leah began having children. Any struggle with infertility can be deeply painful, and Rachel reacted with predictable bitterness.
While Jacob rightly points out that it is beyond his ability to ease Rachel's pain, his response is one of anger. Like many of us, Jacob is accustomed to leaning on his own ability to solve problems. But his inability to help Rachel frustrates him, and it leads him to frustrate and hurt the people around him. Confidence in our own abilities often does that.
But Jacob's words are truer than he knows: "Am I in the place of God . . . ?" While he has not yet fully grasped this truth, these words reveal a growing awareness that Jacob is not God. Life is beyond his control.
We can be frustrated—and we can frustrate others—when we find ourselves in situations outside of our control. Or we can admit that we are not God, and we can begin to embrace his gracious care for us.
Almighty God, all good things come from you alone. We confess our tendency to take things into our own hands, frustrating ourselves and others. Teach us to depend on you alone, for Jesus' sake. Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳
