Today’s devotion comes from Genesis 32:6-12.
“The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and furthermore he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and the herds and the camels, into two companies; for he said, “If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it, then the company which is left will escape.”
Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD, who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your relatives, and I will prosper you,’ I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant; for with my staff only I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children. For You said, ‘I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.’” Genesis 32:6-12.
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What should we do when we are greatly afraid and distressed?
What did Jacob do?
Jacob prayed and remembered God’s Word, including His promises to him. “For You said, ‘I will surely prosper you and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which is too great to be numbered.’” Verse 12.
For us, we can look in the Book of Psalms to help us pray and which is rich in stories of God’s deliverance and comfort. Here are some examples.
“Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from those who do iniquity
And save me from men of bloodshed.” Psalm 59:1-2.
“5 “Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the LORD; “I will set him in the safety for which he longs.”
6 The words of the LORD are pure words;
As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.
7 You, O LORD, will keep them;
You will preserve him from this generation forever.” Psalm 12:5-7.
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress,
My God, in whom I trust!”
3 For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper
And from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with His pinions,
And under His wings you may seek refuge;
His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark.
5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Or of the arrow that flies by day;
6 Of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Or of the destruction that lays waste at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But it shall not approach you.
8 You will only look on with your eyes
And see the recompense of the wicked.
9 For you have made the LORD, my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place.” Psalm 91:1-9.
“14 “Because he has loved Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him securely on high, because he has known My name.
15 “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16 “With a long life I will satisfy him
And let him see My salvation.”” Psalm 91:14-16.
“8 But You, O LORD, are on high forever.
9 For, behold, Your enemies, O LORD,
For, behold, Your enemies will perish;
All who do iniquity will be scattered.” Psalm 92:8-9.
“For You, O LORD, have made me glad by what You have done,
I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.” Psalm 92:4.
Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions 