Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you:’ I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth that You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I am become two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him lest he come and attack me with the mother of the children. For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make Your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ” Genesis 32: 9-12, NKJV.
Merciful Father, Please come close to us and teach us; we pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.
Today we conclude our study on Jacob’s prayer. If there is one thing that I admire; it is when people take God at His Word. Jacob goes to God and claims the fulfilment of God’s promise to him. Let us notice the order in which he does this. First of all, he acknowledges God for who He is – the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac. Next, He reminds God (not that God had forgotten) that it was God, who told him to return to his home; in other words, God, I am only doing what You told me to do. To this he adds the terms under which God had promised to do this, You said, “I will deal well with you.”
He humbles himself before God, and acknowledges that “he is not worthy.” You see my friends, when we are willing to set self aside, it is so much easier to recognize that all that we have, is a gift from God. One of the surest ways of maintaining an awareness of God’s goodness toward us, is by entertaining a spirit of gratitude. We need to make a practice of “counting our blessings!”
God, he says, I crossed over the river Jordan with just a staff in hand; now lo and behold, “I have become two companies.” It is such a wonderful thing to stand back and admire the works of the LORD! But it is also good to be completely open, and honest, with the LORD. “LORD, I have seen what You can do; I have experienced Your unlimited blessings in my life; but now that I am faced with this new challenge, I am afraid!” I do not know how I am going to face my brother Esau.
For some of us facing this economical crisis, it may be just as frightening, “LORD, I do not know where the money for next month’s mortgage is going to come from.” “I do not know how I am going to pay next month’s car note!” “God I am afraid to find out the results of this biopsy.” Whatever situation you are facing, just tell him what is causing you stress. Make your needs, and your wants known to Him. Then trust Him to give You what is best for you! I know that this is so much easier said, than done!
After Jacob’s encounter with the LORD, he is now ready to meet his brother Esau. He is limping now, but he is stronger than he has ever been before! There is something empowering about having an encounter with God! Even when the change is not apparent, and may be known only to us; we are never the same after we have been in His presence! Finally, He sees Esau coming toward him. He is still a trifle shaky, but note what he says to Esau when they meet and embrace, “Jacob said….to see your face is like seeing the face of God-since you have received me with such favor…God has dealt graciously with me…and…I have everything I want” (Genesis 33: 10, 11, NRSV).
God had kept His Word to Jacob, and had carried him to his “father’s house in peace.”