I was recently reading in Genesis 32 about Jacob returning to his brother, Esau. Jacob had fled Esau and the rest of his family to go live in his mother's homeland for fear Esau would kill him. This fear was definitely warranted considering that Jacob's tricks and lies had robbed Esau of so much. 21 years have passed and while traveling home, Jacob learns that Esau is on the way to meet him with 400 men. Genesis 32:7 says, "Jacob was frantic with fear." (TLB) He makes elaborate plans on how to protect his family and possessions. Then he cries out to God for help, confesses his fear and reminds God of his promises. Just in case that wasn't good enough, he sends lavish gifts ahead to appease his brother and ultimately ends up physically wrestling with God. As it turned out, this fear was unfounded. Esau was coming in peace, delighted to be reunited with his brother.
All this made me reflect on my own unfounded fears. How many times do I worry and lose sleep because I assume something bad is about to happen? Jacob did the right thing by calling out to God, telling Him he was afraid and reminding Him of His promises. Jacob could have saved himself a lot of trouble and expense by foregoing the back-up plan though.
The next time I'm faced with an uncertain situation, I choose to cry out to my God, tell Him I'm afraid and remind Him (and myself) of His promises to His children. I'm going to trust "… that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." Now that's what you call a back-up plan!
