Happenings II

Gen.32:⁴ …“Give this message to my master Esau: ‘Humble greetings from your servant Jacob. Until now I have been living with Uncle Laban ⁶ …the messengers returned to Jacob and reported, “…Esau …is already on his way to meet you—with an army of 400 men!”

It is not enough to leave Laban’s house, you have to deal with “Esau”. We established yesterday that we all have “Esau” in our lives. “Esau” is that part of us that will sell the birthright in exchange for pleasure. “Esau” wants instant gratification and seeks to satisfy the longing of the flesh. It wants to eat the porridge and still keep the birthright. The “Esau” in us wants to feed habits that are leading us down the drain. Like Jacob, you need to face up to “Esau” and deal with it.

Jacob knew that “Esau” is outside his comfort zone. Jacob started by sending a list of his achievements to “Esau” [pride of life]. Scripture tells us that in return, “Esau” headed out to meet Jacob with four hundred men. Jacob sent gifts but “Esau” was insatiable. You cannot satisfy the flesh. Jacob soon discovered that Esau could take all his gifts and still kill him. And then came the realization; before I face up to Esau, I need to face up to God. Without God you and I cannot face up to Esau. The truth is that your gifts, your credentials, and your accomplishments cannot do it.

3^rd Happening: To fulfill his destiny, Jacob needed to face God. Jacob knew that for him to successfully face God, he needed to remove distractions. So he sent his wives, his children and his possessions across the river and he was left alone with God [Gen.32:22-24]. There comes a time in every man’s life when his spouse cannot help him. He has to face God by himself. Please read Genesis 32:24-26 & 28.  The Bible says when Jacob was left alone, a man came and wrestled with him till dawn began to break.

The man Jacob was wrestling with was God and God could not beat Jacob. What makes a man able to hold God down all night? God saw the day was about to break so he wrenched his hipbone. There are certain spiritual exchanges that only take place at night and once the day breaks, it stops. But I am not saying that God does not answer prayers during the day.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, empower me to eliminate distractions and stand face to face with the Lord so that I can fulfill my destiny in God, in Jesus Name. Amen!