Map Out Your Life

I want to lead you in a profitable exercise today, friends, and if you will follow along with me, you'd be glad you did. We are going to draw a map of your life, and to do this, we will use a simple map of the life of Jacob as our backdrop and comparison. But first, you will need a few things to participate in this little exercise.

You'll need your Bible, of course, and a pen, and locate some blank space there in the margin or on a page in your Bible where you can draw out a little map. For simplicity purposes, we will first draw four little mountaintops with connecting valleys, and make sure, friends, to leave enough room below this first drawing for another one just like it, below it. Take your time, draw your four little mountains, and begin the drawing with a descending line from the left that goes to a valley before you come back up to draw your first mountain, and right on this first descending line, the three descending numerals 1, 2, 3. Then, atop each mountain, write the following words which represent Jacob's life.

On the first mountain, put the word Bethel. In the second mountain, on top of that, put the word Peniel. And on the third mountain, put the word Bethel once again.

And lastly, on the fourth mountain, write the word Egypt. Once you do your rough draft, you can make it look better by redrawing it if you want to. You can redo it as much as you want to, but let's get the bare bones of this drawing out of a map on your Bible paper now.

Four little mountains with their connecting valleys with those four locations written atop. Are you with me so far? Now, turn in your Bibles to the book Genesis, and there will be our reference point, for we'll fall between chapters 27 to 49. We won't take the time to read these chapters today, but only use them for Scripture reference points for you to read them when you have more time on your own.

Do you have your four little mountains on your map? Okay, well, let's proceed. No other Bible character typifies the conflict between the lower and higher nature than does that of Jacob. Jacob had an up-and-down life because Jacob had an up-and-down walk with God.

There was no consistency in it until he finally experienced his Jabbok. His life begins on the downgrade where he cheats his brother. This is seen in our first descending line with the one, two, three there.

He cheats his brother. He deceives his aged father, and these domestic troubles of his own making compel him to flee for his life and to leave his family home to go live with his uncle. We see his life hit rock bottom and then soar at times to glorious heights, only to sink again into his sordid struggle for gain.

Jacob's life is a map of highs and lows represented by our little drawing here. Finally, after all these ups and downs, his mountaintop experiences with God in his valleys of defeat, he emerges at the very last in Egypt upon the heights of a triumphant faith. Now, if you're familiar with the life of Jacob, you can rehearse in your thoughts now his experiences from Genesis chapter 27 to chapter 49.

It was said of Jacob that he was so crooked he could hide behind a corkscrew. In his true friends, after his early downgrade of being a liar and a cheat, he has a spiritual vision at Bethel, and it is there he makes a vow to God, Genesis 28.20 declares, and Jacob vowed a vow saying, if God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on so that I come again to my father's house in peace, then shall the Lord be my God. So Jacob has this mountaintop experience with God at Bethel.

That's our first little mountain on our map. Then comes the valley of downgrade as unhappiness is produced by family trouble and polygamy, but we see the transforming power of fellowship with God in all the lofty spiritual heights of this man Jacob. His next mountain experience is at Peniel at the Brook Jabbok, where he has as great spiritual experience as he has an encounter with God.

In a night of wrestling, desperate prayer, he gains the victory, and the angel declares, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel, for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. So this is seen in our drawing of the second mountaintop in our little map of Jacob's up and down life. Next we see the valley of family troubles as his daughter Dinah is defiled and his sons, in a spirit of revenge, bring more trouble upon poor Jacob.

He arrives at Bethel and he remembers his former vision, and he builds an altar there and worships God on this third mountaintop experience. Then comes one of Jacob's deepest valleys as his domestic trouble continues because of parental partiality and family jealousy, which leads to Joseph being sold into Egypt. Finally, at the end of Jacob's life in Egypt, we see him at the very pinnacle of spiritual highs as he prophesied the coming of the Messiah.

This is seen in Genesis 49.10. We read Jacob's words, The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. There is the fourth little mountain on our map, friends, Egypt. Now, does it all come together better in your understanding? Can you see it more clearly now? Now, here is the part of the exercise I want you to do at home, or when you get alone in a quiet place.

I want you to duplicate that little map with its four mountains and succeeding valleys, and I want you to draw your own map of your own life. After much reflection and prayer, I want you to name your mountaintops with God, and date them if you can, and mark your valleys, and remember and reflect upon them. Make your own vows to Almighty God to live a more consecrated and consistent life for Him, to have a more glorious ministry and service for Him, for your good and for His glory.

I've done this, friends. I've drawn out this map of my own life through the years with its consecutive highs and lows, and I've spent a great deal of time reflecting on my mountaintops and my valleys. I've received a great blessing by doing this.

I know you will, friend, receive a blessing as well if you'll take the time to prayerfully consider and to do this in your own life. Let us reflect on this today. Let us pray.