Our Past Doesnt Simply Disappear (Read Genesis 32:1-21) O Lord...I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant...Please deliver me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I fear him... (Genesis 32:9-11) Jacob had been gone from home for twenty years. When he left home, Esau was so angry with him that he promised to kill him (27:41). As he moved closer and closer to his old home, he must have wondered, Have those twenty years of not seeing me calmed Esau down? Jacob didnt know the answer to that. Regardless, what Esau had said was still very much alive within Jacob. He remembered it all too well. He also knew how skilled of a hunter his brother Esau was. Were his new family to be Esaus new hunt? Jacobs fear was not just his imagination, it was very real. And whats more, he was coming face to face with Esau with every step he took on his journey home. Our past is something that God does have us deal with at times and whenever possible. I believe He does this for two reasons. First, to be reconciled with the ones we have hurt or offended. Second, for the sake of our testimony for God going forward. Those we have sinned against often still remember what we did to them, what we said to them, or how we treated them. They may have even replayed the event in their minds, stirring up their ill feelings towards us again and again. Is it good for those feelings, those thoughts to be just left alone? Well, it seems in Jacobs case the answer was No. God kept his twin brother alive so that Jacob could be reconciled with him. And God arranged it that Esau was living right in the path of Jacobs journey home. Coincidence? Not at all! Has God brought you through one of these situations? Is God reminding you of a situation between you and another person from your past, that needs to be taken care of? Its all part of your journey with God. He wants and needs you to pass through this experience. Dont try to avoid it. Dont try to ignore it. Dont justify in your mind, why it doesnt matter anymore. God is arranging for you to clear up certain things from your past. Your obedient response to God should be to deal with them. I can tell you from my experience of obeying God in dealing with past things in my life, that it was difficult to face the fact at first that they had to be dealt with. But as I realized that God wanted me to get things cleared up, He strengthened me to be able to carry it out. As I stood in front of a person apologizing, He was there with me. Afterwards, the sense of joy I experienced was too great for words. At times the person I was reconciled with was so happy to have this thing behind us, and it gave us a new way to go forward together. When the person was not a Christian, and I dealt with something I had done to them, their appreciation for God and the Christian Faith grew. One very big side benefit that I didnt count on happening, was how clearing up past offences and occurrences shut the mouth of Satan in those areas. He used those past things as points of accusation: You hypocrite! You speak a good game but you still have that black spot in your past. He used them to weaken my stand and boldness for God. At times I would even question my faith because those things were still there. All his accusations that focused on those past things stopped once the things were cleared up. Is this any easy step to take on our journey with God? No. But it is often a very fruitful one for us, for those we are reconciled with, and for God. Maybe God has been reminding you of something lately that He wants you to deal with. Dont excuse it away by saying, too much time has passed, or the person wont remember. Be bold. Be courageous. Be honest. Be sincere. Clear things up and enjoy the fruit of your obedience to God.
Posted on: Mon, 05 May 2014 12:50:16 +0000
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