Title: Night of Worry/Genesis 32:24-30
There is no one in the world without worries and worries. Worry robs people of their power. Worry does not keep us from sin. Worrying does not bless tomorrow, but curses today. Today's Bible verse is about Jacob's fear of his brother by the Jabbok River on the way back to his hometown, where his brother Esau was after living an exile, and he spent the night in prayer before God. I hope that today we will find the answer of how to overcome our worries as we wrestled with the angel while worrying about Esau's revenge.
1. Causes of Worries
It is clear that if humans have worries, there must be a cause. There is no such thing as an effect without a cause. Then why are humans tormenting themselves with the tools of worry? Why do cares and worries come to dominate your inner being?
In Jacob's experience, we can find four causes of worry.
1) Solitude.
After leaving Jacob alone in the wilderness, he was gripped with the worries and anxieties that came upon him. Worry is liking solitude.
First, solitude is contrary to God's will, as recorded in Genesis 2:18. Sociologists say married people live longer, are more emotionally stable, and live happier than single people. Solitude will never create happiness, but rather will provide abundant soil for care and worry.
Second, solitude renders us incapacitated for the things we are supposed to do. When Moses realized this, he said, “The responsibility is so heavy that I cannot bear all these people on my own” (Numbers 11:14). So, as a solution, God chose 70 elders to help Moses. In this way, solitude is what makes people powerless.
Third, solitude takes away a source of courage and strength in people (Ecclesiastes 4:10).
Fourth, solitude has the power to intensify anxiety and worry. Even the great prophet Elijah was gripped by such concerns (1 Kings 19:911).
2) Past mistakes are the cause.
Jacob has had a faulty life with his older brother and father. It was an act of usurping the birthright from his brother Esau. Jacob could never forget what he had done (Genesis 25:2933; 27:1824, 3435). These past crimes tormented his conscience day and night. So he was always caught up in worries and anxieties.
3) The threat of the referee is the cause.
Jacob was actually afraid when Jacob's servants returned and reported that his brother Esau was coming to him with 40 men. It was because he knew that he was sure to receive severe judgment and rebuke from his brother Esau as a deceived man. All people live in fear, worry and anxiety when they are under the threat of judgment or reproof.
4) Fear of ignorance is the cause.
Jacob spent the night with open eyes. He couldn't sleep with fear and worry, because he didn't know what was going to happen to him tomorrow.
It is said that 95% of everyone's anxiety is caused by events in the past that cannot be changed. It is also caused by future events that will never come true.
2. Consequences of Worry
1) It causes unnecessary worry.
“Jacob was very afraid and frustrated… ” (Gen. 32:7). Jacob's fears and frustrations were resolved the next day, and all his worries and anxieties went to nothing. In other words, the worst did not happen.
First, worry is what complicates life's problems. Jacob's problems were simple, so it was easy to get reconciliation and change his brother's heart. But it became an unresolved problem for Jacob all day, tormenting him. Someone wisely said. “Worry is concerned with inflicting pain before it benefits.”
Second, worry is not appropriate for Christians.
The psalmist said, “Cast your burden on the Lord” (Psalm 55:22). There are 773,692 words for worry in the Bible. But it would be foolish for us Christians to try to find the word 'worry'. The word worry is not in God's vocabulary. So it's not even in the vocabulary of his children.
2) It makes you cling to vain things.
Genesis 32:4-5 clearly shows how much time and money Jacob wasted needlessly to ask his brother Esau for forgiveness and calm him down.
We often waste our time in the world by revealing our unbelief. Sometimes when we encounter a problem in life, we try to avoid it. We can overcome our worries and anxieties by keeping our hands busy as much as we can.
3) It becomes a sleepless night.
“Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him all day long” (Genesis 32:24). Jacob wrestled with the angel all night and could not sleep. This is the saying that Jacob could not sleep because of worry and anxiety, and like this, it shows that worry takes our sleep and God away from us.
3. Healing (Removal) of Worry
1) Confession.
Genesis 32:10 is Jacob's confession. If we feel the heavy burdens of unbearable care being lifted from us into the hands of a holy God, we cannot but express our gratitude to God.
2) It is supplication.
Even after sending many gifts and servants with Jacob, he was still gripped with worries and concerns. But when Jacob prayed earnestly to God, he found that his worries were being healed.
The prayer of faith saves us from all harm (Genesis 32:11). God's promises are proclaimed through prayer. Jacob remembered the exact promise God had made and was able to find it again. It was done through prayer. The prayer of faith has the power to destroy sin. Jacob's prayer was not a conditional prayer to obtain something.
3) It is a strong faith.
Jacob's experience of wrestling with an angel is a testament to his strong faith. From this we learn that we must hold on to any problems we may encounter, and any problems that may prove to be a tough fight. Such faith guarantees a brighter tomorrow (Gen. 32:2729).
Jacob was no longer a ‘deceiver’, but without any fear or dread, he became an ‘opposer of God’. A strong faith instills confidence that God will always protect you (Gen. 32:30).
Like Jacob, we should be able to have deep confidence that God will always protect and protect us in a world full of worries.
Jacob spent a night of anxiety on his way home. I spent the night with anxiety and worry, gripped with fear and horror beyond human words, but overcame all these through confession, prayer, and strong faith, and gladly met my older brother Esau.
Hymn 474 “There are many troubles in this world, and you do not know true peace. I hope you enjoy true peace and joy while singing “My Lord Jesus said, ‘Come to me.