Word of Encouragement (04/05/2022)
And Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,' 10 I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. 11 Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. 12 But you said, 'I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.'" (Gen. 32:9-12).
Jacob offered this prayer out of desperation. He came away from Laban’s house with his wives and children. He sensed that the arrangement he made with Laban, which made him rich, did not please Laban. Feeling threatened, he decided to flee with his family and possessions. Laban caught up with him, but the LORD had appeared in Laban’s dream and warned him against saying or doing anything bad against Jacob. They made a covenant not to harm each other and departed.
Now, Jacob hears that Esau is coming out to meet him with four hundred men. Struck with fear, he cries out to God with this prayer. It is understandable (because we do this often, too!) but we cannot help but feel saddened by his fear. Not too long ago, he experienced God’s dramatic rescue from Laban’s pursuit. This was not something he expected. There is no mention of Jacob’s prayer concerning this matter. Yet, God intervened on his behalf even before Jacob asked, which he found out from Laban’s confession. Not only that, God sent angels to meet him on his way back to Canaan (Gen. 32:1-2), probably to assure him and instruct him. Jacob himself has known all along that God has been with him to bless him with a large family and much possession (Gen. 31:42).
But when Jacob hears the news about Esau, he becomes “greatly afraid and distressed” (32:7). It is as if God did not rescue him from Laban and send the angels. The evidence of God’s presence and blessing is all around him in his many children and great possession. But the news of Esau and his four hundred men makes him forget all about God and all that He has done for him! Is it because this time Esau is coming with four hundred men, and this may be too big of a problem for God?
We cannot be hard on him because we do this, too. But we are challenged to examine the way we respond when new adversities arise in our lives, aren’t we? We must remember that there is nothing new under the sun (Eccl. 1:9), including the troubles and trials we go through: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13). They may come in different shapes and sizes, but they are all the same, at least in this sense: they are nothing to our almighty God. This should be all the more so since God in Christ Jesus defeated sin and death, our greatest enemies, for us through His death and resurrection.
This is not to say that we should not feel any fear. Fear is a natural reaction to danger and threat. The question is what we do with it. Do we get paralyzed by it or do we cry out to God? If fear leads us to pray and makes us remember all His blessings, we should be grateful even for our troubles as Spurgeon said, “I have learned to kiss the waves that throw me up against the Rock of Ages.”