April 6, 2015

Genesis 33:4, Anticipating God

“But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him and they wept.”

Do you think Jacob was surprised? Of course he was. He thought it was up to him to set things straight. It never occurred to him that God might be dealing with his brother as well.

So, Jacob prepared for the worst (not really a bad idea) and was surprised by the best. It’s a happy story but I think a lot of stress could have been avoided if Jacob had prayed differently. In 32:11 Jacob prayed “save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me“. Perhaps his prayer could have been something like “Lord, soften Esau’s heart and restore his love for me“.

Of course, we don’t often believe others listen to God as well as we do…

Live boldly out there today…

No comments:

Post a Comment