Overcoming Unfounded fears
Hello Chosen Ones,
I am so human, even though I am a vessel for the Divine. Even though I have experienced great and awesome things with God, I am constantly reminded that I am not perfected yet and will always carry around this earthly flesh and mind that is being transformed into the likeness of Jesus. I am now twenty-five days into my chronological Bible reading plan, and again I discover that “the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). It exposes me - my weaknesses, my lack of faith – I see myself in the characters through which God chose to bring hope and freedom to the world. And that is certainly one of the great mysteries of God’s redemption plan: that He would use ordinary, fallible, imperfect humans to accomplish His purposes. That is grace and mercy!
I have finished the book of Job and am almost done the book of Genesis. Both scream out loudly: “God is sovereign and in control despite human sin and inadequacy”. If it wasn’t for God continually rescuing people from themselves, and His incredible patience with His fallen creatures, we’d all be hopelessly lost! Paul’s words ring true: “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1Cor. 1:27-29). There may be no greater character than Jacob as a depiction of Paul’s words. Jacob, whose name means “deceiver” is just that – a self-reliant trickster who tricks his brother Esau to trade his firstborn birthright for a bowl of stew, and later steals Esau’s paternal blessing by disguising himself as Esau. In a nutshell, he’s a liar. And why not? He comes across it naturally. Both his grandfather Abraham, a polygamist, and father Isaac were liars, who pretended that their wives were actually their sisters to prevent Abimelech, King of Gerar from stealing their wives (Gen. 20 & 26). Fear was the motivation for lying, even though they had the blessing of God on their lives (they were called, chosen and partakers of the promises of God), they still lacked the faith to trust God. They were motivated by fear to take matters into their own hands. In God’s grace, He delivered them from their mistakes by intervening in the life of Abimelech. So Jacob just acts out of the fallen human nature that has been passed down to him. And why not? After Jacob stole Esau’s blessing, Esau vowed to kill Jacob, so Jacob had to flee to his mother’s brother in Haran (Gen. 27:41-46).
You may run, but you can’t hide. Eventually, if you want to be used of God, you will have to face your fears. Fast forward 20 years to chapter 32, Jacob must meet with Esau. The chapter starts with “angels of God” encountering Jacob. What reassurance that at the moment of one of the most difficult days of your life, God is with you! Yet, fear is stronger and Jacob devises a plan to appease the wrath of Esau by offering him a substantial present of livestock. He sends messengers to see Esau and finds out that 400 men are coming with Esau. Surely, this is going to be bad! “Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed (32:7). So, he plans, and he schemes, and he prays the longest prayer yet for God’s deliverance (9-12). And he plans and he schemes with the greatest present he can muster (vs. 20). He separates his family from himself, and then he has a wrestling match with God. Is that not what facing your fear as a believer really is? A wrestling match with God, in prayer trying desperately to believe that God is God, and will deliver you from the foe, even while in your mind, believing that there is no way to overcome. You’re fighting your flesh to take matters into your own hands. You’re planning and scheming to figure out a way out just in case God doesn’t come through. Oh, the walk of faith can be so challenging! In the process of wrestling, you’re being transformed; you’re dying to yourself – you’re going from Jacob (the deceiver) to Israel (which could be translated as the following: “wrestles with God”, or “Prince of God”, “may God rule”, “God prevails”). The battle was not with Esau; it was with God! And it was the fight of his life; for his life – his true identity as the chosen of God. His greatest fear led to his greatest loss – he lost himself and discovered the God who was with him in every battle. He was given a limp so he would never forget how God showed up in his time of need! Oh what mercy; what grace!
The meeting between Esau and Jacob is a beautiful scene; one of reconciliation and love: “Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept” (33:4). The bribe to appease Esau’s wrath is turned into a blessing of love (33:11). What happened to Esau’s desire to kill Jacob? Was God working behind the scenes to change Esau’s heart? Did love cover a multitude of sins? What happened was God was at work to turn an ugly situation into a story of redemption and healing. That is the gospel – as the saying goes…He takes our mess and makes a message! If there is a “take home” from this story, it is to not be guilty of presumption – presuming the worst and forgetting about the God who calls, chooses and empowers to succeed. If we lean on our own understanding, we see a brother who wants to kill another brother for stealing from him, not once but twice. Jacob has every right to fear since Esau said he would kill him. With God, we cannot presume anything, for He has power to change the outcome of situations even when people are set on taking matters into their own hands. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). What is the key to overcoming unfounded fears – trust God! Pray, ask, seek, knock and expect God to intervene, not because we deserve it, but because that’s who He is to His chosen ones – my Deliverer, my Savior, my ever-present Help in time of need. The wrestling match leads to victory: “you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”
Let's live with a prevailing mindset,
Blessings!
"Advancing the Kingdom of God by releasing Spirit-filled followers to serve Jesus in freedom and joy."
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