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He is My Strength

By: Amy McKee

Posted: August 4, 2015

Category: Daily Devotional

Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’” Genesis 32:9-12

Here is our buddy Jacob, preparing to meet his brother Esau who he hasn’t seen since Esau threatened to kill him. Jacob had taken Esau’s most precious processions – his birthright and his blessings. I doubt Esau was going to greet his brother like the Father running to his long lost son. But instead of going into a huge fret – Jacob prayed.

How many times do you have something big or small going on and you instantly start to fret or worry? Its okay. I can’t see you raising your eyebrows or your hands but I know we as humans tend to do that. We tend to forget within a matter of seconds that we have a great big God who can handle any mountain that comes His way. I have to remind myself on a sometimes daily basis – He formed the mountains. But Jacob remembered what the Lord had promised him. The Lord said Jacob would prosper and his descendants would be like the sand of the sea – more than you could even count. Even as Jacob approached what could be his death, he remained faithful to the Lord and held strong to the faith God had planted in him so long ago.

The story of Jacob’s faith reminds me of Psalm 121 verses 1 & 2 from the Message:

I look up to the mountains;
      does my strength come from mountains?
No, my strength comes from God,

      who made heaven, and earth, and mountains.

Friends, our God is the one who created the mountains – we don’t look to the mountains for our strength, we look to our God. He can do all things!

Prayer

God of Everything, give us faith like Jacob when it comes to dealing with the issues that may arise in life. Maybe it’s waiting on a test result, or awaiting that phone call from a relative, give us peace, strength, and faith knowing that You created the mountains and You will see us through. Amen.