When Jacob first encountered the Lord at Bethel, he asked God forhealth, wealth, and prosperity-a prayer that reflected
his young faith.
- P69
But after years of experiencing God‘s goodness through hardship, hisfaith matured and he eventually ended up wrestling with God Himself, desperately seeking His blessing. - P69
As we continue to walk with theLord, may our prayers deepen and mature until we, like Jacob, canconfess that God alone is our greatest desire. - P69
Heavenly Father, forgive me for living a
prayerless life. - P69
Help me to earnestly engage with You
so that I may experience more of You and receive the blessings - P69
You want to pour out upon me. In Jesus‘ name, amen. - P69
2 He put the female servants and their children in fromLeah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph inthe rear.
3 He himself went on ahead and bowed down to theground seven times as he approached his brother. - P70
4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; hethrew his arms around his neck and kissed him. Andthey wept. - P70
10 "No, please!" said Jacob. "If I have found favor inyour eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your faceis like seeing the face of God, now that you have receivedme favorably. - P71
Having entrusted all things into God‘s hands, Jacob carefully proceedsto meet Esau face to face and bows seven times to the ground in an actof humble and contrite reverence before his elder brother. - P72
In our brokenworld, powerful people thrive on making a show of their dominanceand refusing to back down to their opponents. - P72
Imagine how muchconflict and loss could be avoided if people would simply admit totheir wrongdoings and show some humility toward the people theyhave harmed! - P72
As children of the Almighty God, we can confidently laydown our pride and humble ourselves before others because we know
that the Lord will lift us up in due time.. - P72
Jacob finally receives the divine favor he has been waiting for in Esau‘ssurprising response. - P72
Esau kisses and embraces Jacob and displays anemotive desire to be acquainted with his family. - P72
Though Esau initiallyrefuses Jacob‘s generous gifts, Jacob‘s joy and relief makes him insist onthe offering, for the goodness of God has overflowed into his life. - P72
In thisbeautiful reunion we see that throughout the many years the brothers lahad been apart, God was powerfully at work in Esau‘s life, blessing himand dissolving his bitterness toward Jacob. - P72
Today, God is surely workingin the same way in the lives of those we consider our enemies. He iswith them just as He is with us. - P72
"Nothing paralyzes our lives like the attitude that things can never change. Weneed to remind ourselves that God can change things!"- Warren Wiersbe - P72
To this day, I don‘t know how this happened. I don‘t recall any majorlife crisis that led to her reconsider her eternal destiny; God had simply worked in her heart.
- P73
If anything, I can only give credit to the persistent prayers of my family members. - P73
Although these prayers may have seemed like a hopeless endeavor,
they were heard by a powerful, gracious God who wasworking in my aunt‘s life without us knowing. - P73
Only God can changethe human heart. - P73
Only He can overcome an individual‘s stubbornresistance to His grace and bring His child home. - P73
Dear God, when I look back upon Your goodness to me, I regret how much Iworried and failed to trust in You. - P73
Help me to know that You are working outall things for good, even among people and situations that are far beyond myreach. In Jesus‘ name, amen. - P73
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