DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- WASTED WORRY

DAD'S RAMBLING – WASTED WORRY

"Then he [Jacob] crossed over before them [his family] and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. But Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept." (Genesis 33:3-4)

Jacob had heard the report that Esau was coming with 400 men and it filled Jacob with great fear and distress (32:6-7; 33:1). For all Jacob knew, Esau was coming to fulfill the last word that he had said before Jacob had left home – that Esau was going to kill him. I think it would cause me a lot of anxiety also.

But over 20 years had passed, and God had done a work in Esau's heart. Jacob's fear was for nothing. God had told Jacob leave Padan Aram and return to Canaan, the land of Abraham and Isaac (31:3). Since God had spoken to him to return, he could have saved himself a lot of angst by trusting God's plan. Wasted worry.

We could save ourselves a lot of anxiety and fear if we could just learn to trust God. Not every situation will work out like it did for Jacob, or like we want it to, but we can still trust God. He can heal broken relationships when it seems that there is no chance of repair and reconciliation. God is the healer of broken hearts and dreams.

This reminds me of the story of the prodigal son in Luke chapter 15. When the son came home, "while he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him" (Luke 15:20). I can picture the son kneeling before his father. The son had sinned against his father, and he didn't know if the father would accept him back as a son, but he hoped at least to be a hired servant. But his father did not hold a grudge against him. Instead, he welcomed him home as a part of the family with great passion.

These are pictures that remind us that God welcomes us home when we return to Him. We don't have to worry whether God will accept us when we come and bow before Him, because we have His promises. For example, Jesus said, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out" (John 6:37). And, "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Joel 2:32; and quoted in the N.T., Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13). "Whoever" includes me, and He welcomes me into His embrace. He will never turn me away.

Have no fear. God welcomes us home. What a gracious God we serve.

Love, Dad