In Genesis 32 we find Jacob preparing to meet his brother Esau. And how scared Jacob had to be! He had tricked his brother Esau and deceived him. He had received birthrights that rightfully belonged to Esau. When this happened, he fled! He went far away (with a little help from his mother) to his uncle’s house. He fled because he was afraid Esau would kill him. He just knew at that time that if Esau found him, he was done for!
Many years had passed and Jacob was returning home at the Lord’s urging. You know what he had to have been thinking about, right? I'm sure that he didn't have a relaxing trip. I'm sure that all along he kept thinking "What is Esau going to do? Will he kill me?" I'm sure with each step that he took, there was more and more anxiety.
Put yourself in Esau’s shoes. How would you have reacted? We would all love to say that we would have let bygones be bygones. But you know what? We don’t really do that a whole lot. We hold grudges. We don’t talk to each other. Almost everyone can think of people, maybe friends or family members, who don’t talk or communicate because of something that happened years ago; and they can’t even remember what it was! Think about it. Even if we were in Jacob’s shoes, we would have feared the worst because we know what we would do if we were Esau.
Many of us live in fear in our daily lives because of our past sins. Many of us have been frozen by our past sins against someone or even more so, a past sin someone has committed against us. Think about it! How many of us do not move on in our Christian walk because we can’t forgive ourselves for something we've done. Or how many of us can’t let go of some wrong that someone has done to us?
In the text mentioned above, Jacob is preparing for the worse. He divided the people in two groups so that if Esau attacked one group the other group could escape. How often do we imagine the worse? We give God no credit for the fact that He can heal those wounds and can fix the problem.
Now, moving on to Genesis 33 where Jacob sees 400 men and puts his plan into immediate action. He knew it! He and his family were going to be destroyed. How dare God lead him into such a terrible situation! Ever feel that way? God is asking you to do something that you don’t want to do. How dare Him? Who does He think He is, God?
The tension builds and builds, and then...what happens? Jacob finds that Esau had forgiven him and the brothers have shared fellowship together! Esau did what most of us would not do. Instead, Esau did what God does. The only time in Scripture you can find God getting in a hurry is in the story of the prodigal son.
In that story the prodigal son, (which represents us) squandered all of his inheritance and when he came back home, he came back just as Jacob did. He came back with the hopes that he could be a servant, but what happened was he was met with “open arms” by the father, (which represents God).
And that is what Esau did. He put the past behind him because he had missed his brother. He was ready to welcome him home. Isn't it awesome that this is exactly how God is? He doesn't hold the past against us. He runs to meet us and then welcomes us home. What is keeping you from being the servant that you should be? What is it you are afraid that God won’t forgive. Trust me, He will. He loves you and just like Esau was with Jacob, God longs to welcome you back.
Scripture: Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13; Luke 6:37; Ephesians 4:26; Proverbs 3:5; 1 John 1:9; Acts 7:59-60
Prayer: Dear Lord, I ask that you grant me the wisdom to overcome the challenges that lie ahead. Help me know that all will turn out fine in the end as you are here to guide me.
May God bless you!
Tiffany
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