Facing Your Fears – Genesis 32:1-32

“Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran. And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it!” (Genesis 28:10-12)

“The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.” (Psalm 34:7)

1.    Fear that…

“Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” (Genesis 27:41)

2.    Prayer that…

“Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain!” And God granted what he asked.” (1 Chronicles 4:9-10)

“And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them…” (Acts 4:24)

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 5:10-11)

“The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.” (Psalm 16:5-6)

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

“You lay out all your fears before the Lord, ask him to do what he has committed himself to do in his Word, and then press on by faith.” (Iain Duguid)

3.    Planning that is…

“The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.” (Proverbs 16:1)

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15)

“Jacob’s gifts to Esau demonstrate that he is as shrewd as ever. Besides being an attempt to gain Esau’s favor through generosity, the continuous arrival of herds of animals will wear out any schemes for ambush and deflate any degree of military readiness that Esau might be planning in his encounter with Jacob. Additionally, traveling with animals will slow Esau down and make his company much noisier.” (IVP Bible Background Commentary)

“For though by prayer we cast our cares upon God, that we may have peaceful and tranquil minds; yet this security ought not to render us indolent.” (John Calvin)

4.    Grace that…

“In either case, it seems, this opponent has such power that he could easily crush Jacob – unless he somehow chooses to restrain that strength.” (Dale Ralph Davis)

“If my father’s affairs had prospered, and I had never been ruined . . . I should never have been a clergyman, never have preached a sermon, written a tract, or a book.” (J.C. Ryle)

“Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times.” (Genesis 27:36)

“In the womb he took his brother by the heel,
and in his manhood he strove with God.
He strove with the angel and prevailed;
he wept and sought his favor.” (Hosea 12:3-4)