Jacob up to his old shenanigans. but there are some nice bits about God in this story. He tells Jacob not to be afraid....and then Jesus tells us twice more within three verses.
don't be afraid.
the Bible says "don't be afraid" 365 times in its pages. that's once per day. we humans tend to be afraid all of the time. and that fear leads to other things... none of which are good. we get selfish, because we're afraid we don't have enough. we are mean to others, because we're afraid they'll hurt us. we gossip, because we're afraid we'll look bad or we're afraid they're talking about us.
let's all stop being afraid. how, though? well, it comes through love and trust. when we love God, and we trust Him to take care of us (like He promises to do in the gospels very clearly... and like He tells Jacob He'll do in the OT reading), our hearts open up. we learn to love others, not because we naively believe they won't hurt us (hint: they will) but because we know that He'll heal us each time they do... and we'll heal stronger and wiser and better than ever.
loving people means being hurt... make no mistake. anyone who tells you differently is selling something. but the truth behind that truth is that God is all good... and He is beneath, behind, and under every relationship you'll ever have. He is waiting to catch you when you fall. He is yearning to heal you when others hurt your heart. He is waiting with open arms for your trust fall.
let's trust Him... and stop being afraid.
1 comment:
Amen
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