Crisis! A Wake-up Call to Change

Trouble comes our way often by our own invitation. It’s not that we intend to behave in ways that invite trouble, but we passively or directly engage in behaviors that invite negative consequences. Those consequences are wake-up calls to make changes in our attitudes and actions. Jacob got a wake-up call on the road to Haran.

In dreams he saw a ladder or stairway extending from earth to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it. Can you visualize this picture? It gets better. Above the stairway stood the Lord God speaking to him directly. He told Jacob, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your grandfather and Isaac your father."

Prior to this life-changing dream, Jacob’s life was defined as self-directed and self-centered; he was a cheater and a fraud. In his dream God promised him a new beginning, not because he deserved it but because God saw potential where no one else could. He promised Jacob a future with hope. Is this what you need? God will give it to you.  

Crisis! Redemption or Stagnation?

Jacob, the youngest son of Rebekah and Isaac spent decades honing his skills in manipulating, deceiving, and being a fraud. Jacob needed redemption but was reluctant to accept it. He would have to experience severe crises to make the transition. Genesis 28 presents his first major crisis. With his mother’s help, he stole his brother’s blessing.

 

To escape Esau’s plan to kill him, Jacob’s mother sent him to Haran to live with her brother. On the way he stopped for the night, lay down to sleep and had a dream that proved to be the beginning of his redemption. It was his first personal encounter with the Lord God. A severe crisis can weaken a person’s resistance to God’s intervention.

 

The issue is that God intervenes even when we’re undeserving and have severely messed up our lives. As Jacob slept, he dreamed God spoke a message of reassurance and hope to him, a chance for a new beginning with a clear conscience. God gave him the opportunity to build a bridge to a different lifestyle, and he will do that for you.

Crisis! Hope for Positive Change

On the way to visit with his uncle, Jacob stopped for a night’s rest at sundown. He was not on a leisurely vacation, but fleeing the wrath or his brother, who intended to kill him. In life’s journey, there are times when it seems things can’t get worse. Jacob no longer had the provisions and protection of his mother Rebekah and would never have her support again.

A crisis comes when appropriate changes have been disregarded. In Jacob’s case greed overrode a moral code that would have prevented him from cheating and stealing from his brother. Deception had become a way of life for him, so now he was isolated and facing the impact of a full-blown crisis without the support of his family.

It’s at these moments when we can choose the positive direction a crisis presents because God never fails in providing that decision. Even in deepest despair God provides hope for the future by shinning His light on the path we must take. He presents an alternative that is acceptable.

Crisis! Opportunity for Failure or Success

Acceptance is a critical issue for everyone. Although Esau was the older brother, it seems he was always following in Jacob’s footsteps. His father sent Jacob to relatives hundreds of miles away so he would be safe but also to find an acceptable wife. Esau felt compelled to strike out on his own to find a wife who would fit in with the family.

 

What he didn’t know was the aspect of Jacob’s values and personality that permitted him to practice deceit and betrayal on such a grand scale. In denouncing Jacob, Esau would say, “No wonder they call him a grabber and cheater, for he stole my birthright and blessing.”

 

Under the guise of finding a wife, Jacob was forced to leave the family to escape being killed by Esau. In a crisis we are forced to choose a negative or positive turn in life, and our choice reflects our values and character strengths. The Lord God intends that we choose what reflects his plan and will for us, and he stands ready to help us do just that.  

Sin --> Grief and Loss

Those individuals who practice deception as a means of satisfying their ego demands eventually push their tactics too far and consequently end up in harm’s way. When Rebekah and Jacob used their manipulative skills to steal Esau’s blessing, they were shocked and panicked to learn of Esau’s intent to kill Jacob as an act of revenge.

  

In the panic, Rebekah managed for Jacob to be sent to her brother’s home hundreds of miles away and carried out her plan under the cover of lies. Rebekah and Jacob would not confess their deceit or seek forgiveness, but continued building a bridge to grief and loss. Jacob would never again see his mother or father alive.

  

From Esau’s perspective, he lost out in every way imaginable. Earlier he had married two Canaanite women who were unacceptable. Now he would go to his uncle Ishmael to find a wife who was acceptable. At times it seems that redemption is out of reach, but God is patient and will wait for His perfect plan to be activated. Is God waiting for you? 

Mankind's Waywardness vs. God's Tolerance

Deception causes pain not only to the victims, but eventually to the perpetrators as well. It’s especially disturbing to be deceived by family members because it destroys trust. Think how Isaac and his son Esau felt when they realized Rebekah the mother and Jacob the younger son conspired to steal Esau’s blessing.

Genesis 27:41 records Esau’s reaction: So, Esau hated Jacob because of what he had done to him. He said to himself, "My father will soon die and then I will kill Jacob.” Have you ever been hurt so deeply? Were Rebekah and Jacob so naive to think Esau would shrug it off and life would continue as usual?

Remember this: God hates sin and never turns his back on it. Esau’s hatred of Jacob created a crisis within the family, so once again Rebekah’s scheming and conniving personality acted to save Jacob. God’s tolerance for our waywardness seems never-ending, but his plans for us will not be sidetracked by sin. He waits patiently for our cooperation. 

Inextinguishable Hope

Have you noticed how some folks can be contented with just about anything life places upon them? Then there are individuals who have everything but cannot be contented, especially if someone has something more desirable. Jacob and his mother were obsessed with stealing the blessing that belonged to his brother Esau.

They were so obsessed with their plan of deception that they could not understand how hurtful their sinful act would be to Isaac the father and to Esau. Suppose you were stripped of all your power, finances and joy. In addition, you would forever be subject to a younger sibling’s control with no hope for change.

 

Isaac did give Esau one small blessing, but it seemed negative and absent of hope. However, even a small flicker of hope that the Lord Jesus Christ gives can never be extinguished, no matter how dark life becomes.  Ephesians 1:18 is encouraging. “I pray that your heart will be flooded with hope so you can see the future Christ Jesus has called you to share.”