In This Way: Not Getting Ahead of Oneself

"Jacob said to him, "You know how I have worked for you and how your livestock has fared under my care.  The little you had before I came has increased greatly and the Lord has blessed you wherever I have been.  But now, when may I do something for my own household?" ~ Gen 30:29-30

Observations:

• Jacob was loyal to his in-laws
• He hoped for the best and was patient
• There was a "but now..." moment for Jacob
• Birth of Joseph brought "but now..."
• Jacob having a crucial conversation with Laban
• Clear communication of frustration was met with same-old, same-old
• Nothing changed but Jacob changed
• Laban's response was same-old, same old

Applications:

• Show loyalty
• Dance with the girl who brung ya'
• Keep making spark plugs and scooters
• Stay in your lane and keep targeting Cadillac
• Jump from scooters to motorcycles to compact cars
• Plugs --> 2 wheels --> 4 wheels --> 

Prayer: Jacob was up against Laban's trickery but came out victorious.  Japanese automakers were under a conquering USA boot but gained automotive superiority.  Jesus was murdered and sealed in a hole but You raised Him three days later.  I'm up against a support raising deficit of 33% but am trusting You to overcome.

Notes:

At the end of WWII, Japan had zero military or industrial activity.  The US made all the rules for a time in Japan.  In the 1950's and 1960's, the Japanese began making spark plugs and selling them regionally, then across a hemisphere, then globally.  By the end of 1960's, no gas powered engine could run efficiently, anywhere on the planet, without a Japanese component part.

In the 1960's and 1970's, the Japanese started selling scooters, expanding sales in the same way they expanded spark plugs and component parts.  By the 1980's the best scooters in the world were Japanese.  In the 1980's they began using the spark plug and scooter pattern to sell compact cars.  In the 1990's, the Japanese began selling mid-sized cars and in the 2000's SUV's / pickup trucks.  

Their slow climb and method were in the face of perceived hegemony in US automotive manufacturing.  In 2009, Toyota sold more cars and trucks worldwide than any other manufacturer.  They went from the bottom to the top of an industry.

Jacob went from the bottom of a sheep and goat herding enterprise to the top.

I can learn a lesson from Jacob and the Japanese.