A Piece of Peace

Based on Genesis 31-32

"Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times. Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away now empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight."

Genesis 31:41‭-‬42

Jacob had gone through years of struggle during his servitude to his father-in-law, Laban. While Jacob wasn't always the most honest, Laban wasn't always the most fair, and they both sort of "got what they deserved" from each other. At this point, Jacob had enough. As we'll see, Laban had enough as well, and after this moment of venting & explosion soon comes some peace & relief...but it does take some humility! How hard is it to deal with something difficult for a long period of time? Although Jacob put up with a lot, he recognizes in this Scripture above that he was still blessed. He basically says that if God wasn't with him during this process, he would have been sent away empty, but through all that he actually left in prosperity. God sees your struggling years-and He is there in the process if we spend time looking & calling upon His Name! Even a piece of peace pacifies for a decent amount of time...

"Now therefore come thou, let us make a covenant, I and thou; and let it be for a witness between me and thee." Genesis 31:44

Another "God thing" happened after Jacob "let's it all out" to Laban...Laban ends up being the one to call for peace! You'd think it would be Jacob, the one who comes from a family who served The Lord...but this was just another way God was giving Jacob a piece of peace after a painful process...we need that too after these past years I think...so we need to rely on God in order to see that happen!

"and Mizpah; for he said, The LORD watch between me and thee, when we are absent one from another. If thou shalt afflict my daughters, or if thou shalt take other wives beside my daughters, no man is with us; see, God is witness betwixt me and thee." Genesis 31:49‭-‬50

Laban even proclaims a trust in God to watch over his daughters & Jacob when he is not there! He went from a place of control over Jacob and his daughters to a place of release as he let them go with the guidance of God...this not only gave Jacob peace, but Laban too.

"I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children." Genesis 32:10‭-‬11

The next phase of the journey, bringing Jacob that much closer to his father & homeland, would be seeing his brother Esau. I'm sure by now, Jacob is realizing how much God is needed to bring peace into every relationship he has in his life-even his relationship with himself. He ends up wrestling all night on the way to see Esau with an angel...representative of the years of wrestling with God and his deceptive ways. This was the ultimate test of growth for him-and he passed it by getting smaller-that little thing called humility. His name gets changed to Israel, and he goes forward as an honest man of peace, ready for what lies ahead. Let's be sure that we seek peace with humility, because pride might just get us a wrestling match!