Separation & Restoration

Reading of the Day: Genesis 31-33

Genesis 33:4: And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him: and they wept.

The book of Ecclesiastes, particularly chapter 3, talks about how there is a time and a season for everything. To be born, to die, plant, pluck up, kill, heal, break down & build up...and as we read through these chapters in Genesis continuing with the journey of Jacob, we also see that there is a time for something else: separation. In these chapters, Jacob had been separated from his brother Esau for quite some time. Jacob also came to the realization that he had to leave the home of his father-in-law Laban in order to allow his family to thrive & grow elsewhere. Jacob submitted himself to many things which Laban required of him, and some of those things were unfair. He knew it was time to go. He & his family left quietly & peacefully, and Laban eventually caught up to him. God even spoke to Laban not to talk to Jacob good or bad, but just to let him go. So, they came to an agreement of peace, and let each other go. Then, we come to the above Scripture...the long-awaited embrace of Esau & Jacob, after years of separation and confliction! Esau came with many men, and Jacob was afraid...but Esau had the same goal in mind-restoration of a brotherhood & reconciliation of the past! How beautiful this is! In just 3 chapters, Jacob made peace with 2 people...and that's because he first made peace with God! Between these 2 events, he wrestled with an angel who represented God Himself. Jacob wrestled between who he was and who God wanted him to be. He walked away from that encounter as Israel. A new name & a new way of being. He couldn't have had that encounter if he wasn't alone with The Lord, separated in a special, secluded place. Although we don't like it at times, separation is necessary...if only for a season. There are reasons within the seasons that we don't see clearly, but God does! In reading these Scriptures, it is clear that God does some things during those times of separation. He prepares us. He prepares those we have left for a time. The more we find that special place with God, the more we feel at peace. God is able to restore broken things...but we just have to place the pieces in His loving hands!