What if blessing isn’t something we chase—but something we choose?

In this powerful and deeply honest message, Ps Candice reflects on a painful 2025 and invites us into a better way forward for 2026. Drawing from the life of Jacob in Genesis, she unpacks what it truly means to choose blessing—not by striving, stealing, or forcing outcomes, but by pursuing the presence of God.

This sermon is for anyone who has wrestled with disappointment, grief, unanswered prayers, or uncertainty about the future—and is still daring to believe God has more.

Key Themes

• Choosing blessing in the midst of hardship
• Wrestling with God instead of walking away
• The power of perseverance and transformation
• Identity change before blessing flows
• Pursuing the face of God over the hand of God

Scripture Focus

• Genesis 32:22–31 – Jacob wrestles with God
• Psalm 46:10 – “Be still and know that I am God”
• Psalm 139:23–24 – “Search me, O God…”
• Jeremiah 29:13 – “You will seek Me and find Me…”

Big Idea

We don’t choose blessing by buying it or stealing it.
We choose blessing by choosing the presence of God.

When we pursue His face, His provision follows.

The Path to Blessing: B.L.E.S.S.

A practical framework for pursuing God’s presence:

B – Be still before God
Create space to encounter Him in the quiet.

L – Listen for His voice
God speaks in everyday moments—learn to recognize His voice.

E – Examine your heart
Invite God to search you, convict you, and lead you into repentance.

S – Surrender your will
Let go of control and choose God’s way over your own.

S – Seek His presence continually
Daily devotion and weekly gathering shape a blessed life.

Memorable Quotes

• “A limp with God is better than no limp without God.”
• “Don’t let go in the middle of the wrestle.”
• “We don’t pursue the hand of God—we pursue the face of God.”
• “When we get the order right, we will be blessed.”

Final Invitation

The starting point of a blessed life is saying yes to Jesus.
Blessing flows from relationship, not performance.

About This Message

This sermon is part of the Choose Well series and was preached at Thrive Church. It’s a call to step into 2026 with faith, honesty, and a renewed commitment to God’s presence.

⛪ Thrive Church
Helping people move towards Jesus.

📍 Visit us at one of our campuses
🌐 Website: https://www.thrivechurch.co.za

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivechurchsa

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivechurchsa

👍 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thrivechurchsa

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⭐ Rate & review to help others discover the podcast
📲 Share this message with someone who needs encouragement

Thanks for listening!

CHOOSE GOD!

Trading the Sacred for the Secular

One decision. One moment of weakness. One bowl of stew.
Esau’s choice echoes through history—and challenges us to examine our own.

In this message from the Choose Well series, we explore how shortcuts cost more than we realize, and how choosing God over self leads to life, legacy, and blessing.

📖 Scripture

Genesis 25:24–34

Esau trades his birthright—something sacred—for something temporary. What looks small in the moment creates massive spiritual consequences.

🔑 Main Thought

Every shortcut cuts us short and cuts us out of what God wants to do.

🥣 The Danger of Shortcuts

Shortcuts often tempt us to:

• Choose the easy thing over the good thing
• Choose our way over God’s way
• Choose our solution instead of God’s provision
• Choose the secular over the sacred

Esau satisfied a legitimate hunger in an illegitimate way—and lost far more than he gained.

✝️ Esau vs Jesus

• Esau: Hungry → takes a shortcut → trades his future
• Jesus: Hungry → resists the shortcut → trusts the Father

Jesus shows us what it looks like to choose the sacred, even when it costs us in the moment.

🧭 How to Choose God Daily

Ask one simple question before every decision:

“Will this connect me to God—or disconnect me from Him?”

That question brings clarity to:

• Relationships
• Career choices
• Time, money, and priorities
• Habits, discipline, and self-control

🔥 Sacred vs Secular

• Self-control is sacred; addiction is secular
• Faithfulness is sacred; compromise is secular
• Serving God’s house is sacred; convenience is secular
• Sabbath, generosity, prayer, and worship are sacred

Choosing the sacred keeps God first—even when culture pressures us otherwise.

🙏 A Call to Response

At the start of this year, we have the opportunity to choose better than Esau did.
We don’t have to be perfect—we just have to choose God.

“God, I choose You.
I choose the sacred over the secular.”

⛪ Thrive Church
Helping people move towards Jesus.

📍 Visit us at one of our campuses
🌐 Website: https://www.thrivechurch.co.za

📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thrivechurchsa

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thrivechurchsa

👍 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thrivechurchsa

🔔 Subscribe so you don’t miss an episode
⭐ Rate & review to help others discover the podcast
📲 Share this message with someone who needs encouragement

Thanks for listening!