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All Things are Possible

Words of Faith Final

All Things are Possible
Words of Faith 6-16-2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2022
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
www.faithfellowshipweb.com
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Genesis 33
Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two maidservants. [2] He put the maidservants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. [3] He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.
[4] But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. [5] Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. "Who are these with you?" he asked.
Jacob answered, "They are the children God has graciously given your servant."
[6] Then the maidservants and their children approached and bowed down. [7] Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down.
[8] Esau asked, "What do you mean by all these droves I met?"
"To find favor in your eyes, my lord," he said.
[9] But Esau said, "I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself."
[10] "No, please!" said Jacob. "If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably. [11] Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need." And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it.

The reconciliation of Israel/Jacob and Esau is nothing short of stunning. As Jacob saw the entourage of Esau approaching it must have been a terrifying sight. Imagine an angry hairy brother approaching with 400 fighting men, knowing only that the last time you saw him he was taking comfort in thinking of ways to kill you! It is no wonder that Jacob arranged his family in order of their increasing closeness to him. This looked like the end!
The marvelous thing we see here is just how much God had been at work in the lives of these brothers.
Jacob, who could have been described as self-centered and manipulative years earlier, approached his brother with enormous humility bowing to the ground seven times.
Esau, who we remember as despising his birthright, was moved to tears at the prospect of seeing his brother after twenty years. God and only God could have made such changes in the hearts of these two men.
There is a huge lesson here, and it doesn't take a rocket surgeon or a brain scientist to figure it out. If God can reconcile these two brothers as conflicted and estranged as Jacob and Esau, then indeed, there is no relationship that He cannot heal.
Occasionally I hear of a conflict between people. Someone will say, "Those two will never talk to each other. Those groups will never work together. Those people will never be in fellowship again."
Surely some hurts run deep, and betrayals are painful. Still, the truth of Scripture is that God is able to heal even the most difficult of relationships if we let Him. So many times, the Scripture reminds us that "Nothing is impossible with God." This is the great truth. If we will get out of the way, God can and will heal even the most difficult of hurts.
Jesus gave this instruction: "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.
(Matthew 18:15). This is the foundational instruction regarding reconciliation.
First, we must recognize that there is a conflict. Then, you must go to that person. If no one takes the initiative to go to the other, things will never change, or at least not for the better. The approach of such matters should be private. It will take discussion. But the purpose of reconciliation can be achieved.
The Apostle Paul was clear that "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Corinthians 5:1-21).
Is there a painful estrangement in your life? In your family? In your church? Too often, we imagine that things can never be healed, just as Jacob imagined that his brother would forever be angry at him. Jacob prayed for this healing, then took the first step, and God did a miracle. We start in fervent prayer for healing, and then we take a step in the other person's direction. Of course, there are no guarantees. God will not force a stubborn person to be healed, but if we do not move in the direction of healing, nothing will happen. Pray and take the first step.

Father God, help me to be a minister of reconciliation. Start in my life by reconciling me to those from whom I have been estranged. Show me Your desire for healing in my life. Change me so that I may be at peace with others. In Jesus' name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2022
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail, excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2022 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.