In our reading from Genesis, Jacob responds to God’s call to return home with his family. But while Jacob responded to God’s call, he relied on his own methods rather than God’s. First, Jacob left without even telling Laban, his father-in-law, he was leaving. When Laban found out what Jacob had done, he took off in pursuit of Jacob. That could have ended quite badly for Jacob, except God intervened and spoke directly to Laban. He told him not to take action against Jacob. The interaction between Jacob and Laban wasn’t healthy, but at least it led to an agreement that they wouldn’t hurt each other in the future.
Next, Jacob decided to appease Esau, his brother, by sending gifts ahead of his entourage as they returned. Jacob surely remembered Esau’s promise to end Jacob’s life after their father died. Thankfully, Jacob’s long absence had given Esau time to cool down, and to recognize God’s hand in his own life. Thus, Jacob and Esau came together as brothers, their long-standing animosity put behind them. Again, Jacob’s plan wasn’t the key. After all, Esau didn’t even want Jacob’s gifts or bribes. He took them at Jacob’s insistence, but Esau had grown significantly during the years Jacob was away. Had Jacob taken time to consult with God about this, Jacob would have saved a time, worry and effort.
As we read these passages, we’re reminded of how often God works despite. He has a plan for our lives, and He has modeled that plan in His word. Yet, all too often, we forge ahead without reading what He has written to us in the Bible, or listening to what He says to us through the Holy Spirit as we pray. Investing time and effort in prayer and Bible reading is so important for us to discern God’s purpose and plan. Then we must step forward in faith. That’s no small feat. Consider what happened with the disciples in Mark 9. They had been with Jesus for nearly three years. They had heard His incredible teaching. He had called each of them to follow Him. They had seen Jesus perform amazing signs and wonders. But nine of them couldn’t cast one demon out of a boy, when Jesus and the remaining three disciples took a few days away.
It’s easy to condemn the nine, because Jesus did. But we are not Jesus! Would we have fared any better when faced with the opportunity to help the boy? Our purpose in reading the Bible from cover-to-cover is so much more than accomplishing that feat, as important as it is. Our purpose is to hear God’s voice in it, and to believe He speaks to us through it, and will use His words to equip us to live His will in our lives. But reading the words will not be enough. We must live them out in the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus told the disciples they failed to heal the boy, because some demons come out only through prayer. (Some manuscripts of Mark 9 read “…prayer and fasting.”) As we go about this day, having read God’s word, having gained some additional understanding of how He works, the key is to let the words build our faith, so we will approach our lives here and now trusting that God is still working today, and will work in our lives as we let Him.
Jacob heard directly from God–and often lived according to His own plan. The disciples lived with Jesus–and often lived according to their own plan. We have both God’s written word and His Holy Spirit speaking into our lives. We don’t need to live according to our own plan. We see God can and does work in and through our plans, broken as they are, but the better course of action is to live out God’s plan in faith and obedience. That is always the best path to take, not the easiest sometimes, but always the best. God’s plan is always better than ours!