Today we are going to continue the story of Jacob from Genesis 32:1-32. In review, Jacob deceptively stole the first born blessing from his brother Esau which created a family fire storm. Esau was so angry he threatened to kill his brother. To escape his brother, Jacob traveled over 500 miles to stay with his uncle, his mother’s brother. As Jacob begins his journey north he is a man that has major character flaws.
In our text Jacob is returning home a much different man than the one that left twenty years earlier. Jacob has been a man under construction in a spiritual sense. What will his brother do when he returns? Will he still be angry? Will he try to harm Jacob and his family? These must have been the thoughts that Jacob was dealing with when he returned home.
When my children attended grade school they did not use the word detention, but instead called it “choices.” If you had to stay after school you were in “choices” because you had chosen to make poor decisions. Jacob had made some poor decisions in the past and now he was uncertain how that would affect his return.
On our own journey of life, we also can make poor choices that can affect us and those around us. We like to think we would never do all the dumb things Jacob seemed to do. If we live long enough, we find that we also can make some very poor decisions.
What do I do when I mess up? Is God waiting to kick me to the curb? Will God forgive me if I confess my sin to Him? Will He help me change my ways and avoid bad choices?
The good news is the Holy Spirit works in our lives to lead us to confess our sins, to turn away from them, and turn toward God. Have you ever felt the Holy Spirit tugging at your heart asking you to turn from your sin? At this point we have free will to listen to the Holy Spirit or to not listen and go our own way.
Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for our sins. Because of what Jesus did our sins can be forgiven. Today you may be struggling with sin or past decisions that have made a mess. Come to Jesus. He is waiting to forgive your sins as you confess them and ask for forgiveness.