Sometimes human beings can possess a 6th sense. One day I was driving through a neighborhood in Chicago, stopping to ask someone for directions. In a matter of seconds, my car was surrounded as if I was about to be carjacked. I suddenly jumped on my accelerator, swerved to miss a few people and drove like the wind until I found a crowded gas station. This is my own encounter of when peace can turn violent.
It is in my power to do you harm; but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, Be careful that you do not speak from good to bad to Jacob [peaceably, then violently], Genesis 31:29.
While I was growing up in Delaware, I had a short temper. This unhealthy trait was passed down to me by my father, likely brought on by experiences with a drill sergeant in the Army. I was prone to throw fits of rage when things didn’t go my way. This is on display as a Little League pitcher, especially when I didn’t see eye to eye with the umpire’s strike zone. I could be in a great mood one inning before I felt apart emotionally as a peaceful game turned ugly with violent jeering.
And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why do you look sad and depressed and dejected? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you, but you must master it. 8 And Cain said to his brother, [b]Let us go out to the field. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him, Genesis 4:6-8.
The gift of free will can be a blessing and a curse. While God tried to confront Cain about his jealousy, Matthew 5:22, he had already made up his decision. Rather than take a similar passive role in the life of Jacob, God intervened in the form of a dream. This warning altered the actions of Laban in Genesis 31:29, maintaining peace instead of letting human nature turn violent. May today’s passage help you look for a way out of temptation, 1 Corinthians 10:13, so that peace prevails.
by Jay Mankus
ExpressYourself4Him 