Jacob prayed, “Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children.”

One time in elementary school I said something mean to a kid in my class.  Mike was a tough kid and much bigger than I so I expected that when we went outside for recess, he was going to beat me up.  I worried the whole day.  When recess came I told Mike, “If you’re going to hit me, please hit my arm so it won’t hurt so much.”  He laughed and said that he wasn’t planning on hitting me, that he had forgotten all about it.  I had worried over nothing.

Fear does serve a purpose.  If not for fear, we would take foolish risks, endangering our lives.  But we can’t fear everything.  Jacob cheated his brother Esau out of his rightful inheritance twice, and then ran away for years.  When God told Jacob to return home, he feared his brother would kill him and his family.  Jacob wasted years fearing his brother’s vengeance  for nothing.  Esau had long since forgiven his brother.

If we can do something to fix a bad situation, then we should do it.  Regardless, we can exercise our faith and turn our worries over to God.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, we know you care about every aspect of our lives.  Help us to trust you more and to worry less.  Amen.