«Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you last night» (Genesis 31:42)
After Laban had searched so intensely for his family idols without any success, he gave Jacob the opportunity to express his complaints. Jacob summarized the labor abuse his father-in-law had subjected him to: Jacob had to pay for any animals killed by predators, which was against the laws of the time, and during his twenty years of service he had suffered ten cutbacks in his wages, instead of fair increases.
God sees the injustice that His children are dealt with, and He can convert our pain, trials, suffering, and humiliation into victory.
«We have only to live one day at a time, and if we get acquainted with God, he will give us strength for what is coming tomorrow, grace sufficient for each day, and every day will find its own victories, just as it finds it trials. We shall have the power of the Highest with us; for we shall be clad with the armor of Christ’s righteousness. We have the same God that has worked for his people in ages past. Jesus stands by our side, and shall we falter? No, as the trials come, the power of God will come with them.»—The Review and Herald, April 29, 1890.
Isaac’s faith and his fear of God were a model for his son Jacob. Jacob had seen how his father had conquered enemies and overcome obstacles without the use of force. His faithfulness and obedience to God under all circumstances were a constant reminder of what it meant to be a child of God. «Isaac was yet living and practicing ‘the fear’ of God…. The use of this expression…. suggests the deep impression made upon Jacob by the devotion with which Isaac practiced his religion.»—SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 1, P. 401.
We need fathers and mothers who will be examples of piety and obedience to God for their children. Fathers and mothers who by precept and by example will instruct their children in the way of reverent fear of God. When the children will live through their own conflicts and trials, they will remember the example they received, and like Jacob, they will recognize that their parents’ fear of God will reach and reward them.
www.meditacionesdiarias.com
https://twitter.com/meditacionesdi1
http://www.instagram.com/meditacionesdiarias7
Taken from: Devotional Thoughts for Women 2023
“DAUGHTER OF MINE” Do Not Be Afraid
From: Arsenia Fernandez-Uckele
Collaborators: Xiomara Perdomo & Angelica Cuate
