A Hard Place

So Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains, and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead . . . (Genesis 31:25)

Then the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and he also is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people that were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two companies. (Genesis 32:6-7)

Have you ever felt like Jacob, trapped between a rock and a hard place? And when you looked honestly at the situation, did you realize this was a bed of your own making? You can’t go back, because you’ve burned that bridge — and you cannot go forward, because you burned that bridge, too. This is the time when God’s man or woman finally comes to realize the folly of meddling with the steps ordained for him or her, and that our agenda has brought so much more difficulty into our lives than there had to be. 

Yet, here you are, once again – between that rock and hard place. This is when we realize how much the Lord loves us, in spite of ourselves, how His calling on our lives is irrevocable, and His Word and His promises are true. Jacob would come to realize these things as the Lord delivered Him time and again, and he would eventually learn to trust, wait, and worship. 

Thanks be to God that His love and His mercy are greater than our folly — and thanks to God that Jesus is our Rock in those hard places.

Let’s Pray - Dear Father, please do not leave Your servants to their own devices. Deliver us from our own foolishness, and we will turn back to You, never to turn away again. Amen.