Genesis 35: 16-29 Renaming Our Pain

After a spiritual high at Bethel—burying idols, renewing his walk with God—you might expect Jacob’s story to go smoothly from there. But life, as we know, rarely follows neat story arcs.
In our final message in our series on the Life of Jacob,  we’ll journey with Jacob through some of the hardest moments of his life: the death of Rachel in childbirth, the betrayal of his son Reuben, and the quiet passing of his father Isaac. Genesis 35:16–29 is a powerful reminder that even after we’ve made the right choices and cleaned up our spiritual house, suffering can still come knocking. What do we do when faithfulness is followed by loss? How do we respond when we expected blessings but life brings grief? And how does Jacob’s story help us grow from a transactional faith to one of deep trust in God? Join us as we explore how God walks with us—not just on the mountaintops, but through the valleys.