by Zeke Flores<\/p>\n
In Genesis 47:9, Jacob tells Pharaoh, “Few and difficult have been the years of my life<\/em>.”<\/p>\n This is not self-pity; it’s honesty shaped by experience. Jacob has walked through conflict, loss, fear, and hardship, yet he stands as a man preserved by God.<\/p>\n This teaches us that a life of faith is not free from struggle. Scripture never promises ease. It promises God’s presence and faithfulness through every circumstance. Jacob’s testimony is not that life was smooth, but that God sustained him when it wasn’t.<\/p>\n This perspective helps us interpret our own stories. Hardship does not mean God has abandoned us. Difficulty does not negate blessing. God’s people often walk through trials, yet they are upheld by His grace.<\/p>\n If your journey has been marked by difficulty, Jacob’s words remind you that God’s faithfulness is not measured by the absence of struggle but by His presence within it.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Zeke Flores In Genesis 47:9, Jacob tells Pharaoh, “Few and difficult have been the years of my life.” This is not self-pity; it’s honesty shaped by experience. Jacob has walked through conflict, loss, fear, and hardship, yet he stands as a man preserved by God. This teaches us that a life of faith is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[1836,25,182,188],"class_list":["post-94465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-hardship","tag-jacob","tag-suffering","tag-trials"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":94493,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/god-is-my-shepherd\/","url_meta":{"origin":94465,"position":0},"title":"God Is My Shepherd","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 12, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores In Genesis 48:15-16, Jacob blesses Joseph's sons and describes God as the One who has shepherded him all his life. This is the first time God is called a shepherd in Scripture. Jacob looks back and sees that God has guided, protected, and sustained him through every\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/lamb-201x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":93990,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-will-be-with-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":94465,"position":1},"title":"I Will Be with You","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 16, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores \"Yahweh said to Jacob, 'Return to the land of your fathers ... and I will be with you'\" (Genesis 31:3). This is more than travel instructions; it's a doctrinal and directional anchor: God's presence is the foundation for obedience, but His presence doesn't come without obedience. Jacob\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":77994,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wrestling-with-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":94465,"position":2},"title":"Wrestling with God","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 14, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer The narrative of Jacob includes the intriguing account of Jacob wrestling with God (Genesis 32:22-32). Jacob had been out of the land for a few decades and finally returned. The night before meeting Esau again, Jacob was left alone, and the text says, \"a man wrestled with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52380,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-there-any-difference-between-trials-temptations-and-persecution\/","url_meta":{"origin":94465,"position":3},"title":"Is there any difference between trials, temptations, and persecution?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 14, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi Jeff, Is there any difference between trials, temptations, and persecution? Thanks. Answer: In English, a trial is any difficult situation, including temptations and persecution. Temptation is when you desire something but realize that to get what you want, you would have to break a law of God. Persecution\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50919,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/children-according-to-the-promise\/","url_meta":{"origin":94465,"position":4},"title":"Children According to the Promise","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 27, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford The wisdom and subtlety of God truly are beyond our comprehension. Sometimes, though, we are privileged to get a glimpse of it in the Scriptures. This is the case with the story of Abraham and his descendants in Genesis, which only makes sense in the light\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52544,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-sometimes-show-favoritism\/","url_meta":{"origin":94465,"position":5},"title":"Does God sometimes show favoritism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In Acts 10:34-35, Peter said, \"I now realize God does not show favoritism but accepts men who fear him and do what is right\". I believe sometimes God shows favoritism. In Romans 9:13 and Malachi 1:2-3, it is written: \"Jacob I love, Esau I hated.\" Here God favored Jacob\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94465","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94465"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94465\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94465"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94465"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94465"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}