Please take the time to share your prayer requests with us today:  CLICK HERE

Genesis 27:40b
“….but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck.”

This verse was part of Isaac’s blessing on Esau after Esau’s brother Jacob had stolen his blessing. We could go deep here and go into how the Edomites (Esau’s descendants never ruled over the Israelites (Jacob’s descendants) and how the Edomites revolted and were free from the Israelites when they revolted (2 Kings 8:20,22) but I want to look at it on a personal level for Esau. Esau was angry! He had a right to be, his Mom had helped Jacob steal his blessing from his father and Esau had already sold his birthright to Jacob so he felt as though he was robbed of everything.

Have you ever felt that wronged by someone? Have you had a friend, spouse or family member hurt you so deeply that you were overwhelmed with hurt, anger and loss and now you find it difficult to even think about that person, let alone ever have a relationship with them again. Believe me, I totally understand! Sometimes you think you have dealt with these things because you have just stuffed all of the feelings and then you go through a “detox” program like the one I have been on for the last 5 weeks and all of those situations start coming back to mind. (When you detox your body it releases the toxins in different organs that have been put there by stress, hurt, anger etc. ~ sounds strange, but I have learned a lot about all of this lately! Our bodies that God created are very complex!) I have been trying to take one situation at a time and journal and forgive and let it go and believe me it is a process. I thought I had put all of this “stuff” behind me, but apparently I never really gave it all to God, I was still hanging on to a lot of hurt from people I thought I could trust or should have been able to trust! Wow! Healing only truly comes when we completely give it all to God and I am talking Spiritually, Emotionally, Mentally and Physically!

This is why God wants us to forgive! It is a yoke on your neck! You are trying to be an Ox dragging that cart of hurts, anger and regrets, with that yoke around your neck and God wants to take it all from you so you are free! Free to heal! Free to live! Free to serve! Forgive them, but don’t just forgive, give them and your hurt and anger to God! This could be a daily process for a while! Trust me I have been doing it for a week now and some of the hurt is still sitting there and it is difficult to not go to other people to tell them the truth about situations and people where they didn’t know the truth and they poured salt on the wound by the things they said and did. We all want to defend ourselves and we want justice, but would that really make it better? Does that remove the pain or solve what happened? Don’t dredge up the past thinking that ruining someone else’s present will resolve the pain and hurt you feel. Would you want everything you ever did to someone else brought up today? No! Take it all to God! If you need a godly counselor or Life Coach to walk with you then by all means find one, you may find that is the best thing you have ever done for yourself! Getting counseling doesn’t mean you are needy or crazy, it means you have enough sense to find someone to help you sort things out.

God loves you and wants His best for you! He knows every tear you have cried and He wants to mend your broken heart! He never intended for you to carry this all by yourself! A lot of physical illness can come from all of the overwhelming emotions you stuff, so don’t wait, give it all to Him today! Start fresh today with a new outlook that only comes from forgiving and giving it all to God. Free yourself from the yoke of pain so you can fully experience all that God has for you today! Don’t let those people continue to rob you of what God has in store by your not letting it go, they probably don’t even know you are still thinking about it.

Now back to Esau…… he was angry and Rachel had sent Jacob away to live with her brother Laban for a while but God sent him back after several years. How would his brother Esau react? Jacob was a wreck because he knew Esau had wanted to kill him! Genesis 33:4 tells us, “But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.” Esau had forgiven him and was able to move forward in his own life to the point that he could embrace his brother and welcome him home. God wants you to be free! You may never have a close relationship with that person again, but don’t allow the pain to keep you from God’s best! Give it to Him today! The best is yet to come!

Quote:
“He that cannot forgive others breaks the bridge over which he, himself, must pass.” ~Lord Herbert