I was pondering on the story of Esau and
how he handled what seems like a difficult situation for him. He threw caution
to the wind and just thought about the now forgetting tomorrow. Let us look at
the story of Esau together from
Genesis 25: 27-34:
27 As the boys grew up. Esau became
a skillful hunter. He was an outdoorsman, but Jacob had a quiet temperament,
preferring to stay at home. 28 Isaac
loved Esau because he enjoyed eating the wild game Esau brought home, but
Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 One day when
Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted
and hungry.
30 Esau said to Jacob, ‘I’m starved! Give me some of that
red stew!’ (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means ‘red’.) 31 ‘All right,’ Jacob replied, ‘but
trade me your rights as the firstborn son.’ 32 ‘Look, I’m dying of starvation!’ said Esau. ‘What good is my
birthright to me now?’ 33 But Jacob
said, ‘First you must swear that your birthright is mine.’ So Esau swore an
oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau
ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the
firstborn.
Before we begin to find faults in Esau’s actions, how do we handle life-threatening
situations? Do we hold on to our rights as daughters of the Most High knowing
that come what may, He will never leave us nor forsake us or do we look for
alternative options thereby showing contempt for our rights as daughters of the
Kingdom?
Humanly speaking, in the face of such situations, we tend to look out for
alternative options because we feel God is too slow or He is probably sleeping
or has gone on leave. The truth is even though it seems as if He is not acting,
He is definitely working behind the scene. I asked myself, what would have
happened to Esau if he didn’t eat that stew at that point? I don’t think he
would have died anyway but gratifying the now made him act the way he did.
What do you do when your house rent is almost due and you have been praying and
probably fasting and nothing is forth coming but there is this boss of yours
who has offered you 5 times the amount of your house rent if you just spend one
night with him? Do you settle for less or wait for God to act?
As difficult as these scenario seems, there is always a blessing attached to
waiting and holding on to God. I love the way the Psalmist put it in Psalm
37:25:
I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken,
nor
his seed begging bread.
No matter how slow God seems, the good news is, He is always on time, on point
and ever reliable. I want to encourage us this morning, that holding on to God
in the face of life-threatening situations may not make sense but it is always
the best of every other option available so that we can take full delivery of
the blessings of waiting. We know that when Esau earnestly coveted his father’s
blessings as the firstborn, he lost it because he had treated his birthright
with contempt. May we not miss our blessings because of a careless decision in
Jesus’ Name, Amen.
No matter how inviting that option seems, it may hold nothing but regrets at
the end of the day, why not hold on for God’s best instead of future regrets. I
know beyond a doubt that God will come through for us in that very situation.
The year is running to an end, bills are piling, expenses are increasing and
there seems to be no way out, my darling friends, never settle for less, wait
for God’s very best and you will never regret you did.
My pray is that may the Lord, give us double grace to hold on
in the face of challenges, not to loose focus or be discouraged but to wait and
be patient, amen.
God bless you real good!
By Onome kunle-Oyedokn