Thought from today’s Bible reading from Genesis 32-34.
When Jacob departed from Laban and traveled toward his home country, he was fearful of the prospect of meeting his brother Esau. This was certainly understandable since Esau was seeking to kill him when he left (Genesis 27:41-43). When he heard that Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred men (Genesis 32:6), Jacob prayed to God.
“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 relatives, and I will prosper you,’ I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children” (Genesis 32:9-11).
In Jacob’s prayer, he acknowledged all of the great blessings he had already received and the promises that he was still anticipating. As he appealed to God for deliverance, he acknowledged that everything he had was a gift from God and that he was unworthy of His kindness.
God has richly blessed us and has promised us great things which we still anticipate. As we look to God for all things, we must recognize what Jacob recognized: We are unworthy of these gifts. Therefore, let us show gratitude and remember to always place our hope and trust in the Lord.
Tomorrow’s reading: Genesis 35-37
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.
