The story begins in Genesis chapter 31 and verse 3, where God tells Jacob to return to the land of his fathers. Jacob decides to leave with his family without telling Laban (the man he is staying with, who also happens to be his uncle). Obviously, when Laban finds out he is less than impressed and for 7 days he, along with his family hunt Jacob down.
God appears to Laban and asks him not to harm Jacob in any way. When Laban meets Jacob he is extremely angry and vents his frustrations, especially as someone has taken his family idols. Unbeknownst to Jacob, Rachel (Jacob’s wife) has taken the idol.
Just as Rachel took the idols, some answer God’s call but still try to take with us envy, greed, malice, pride, hatred. Just like Laban in the book of Genesis, the devil will come after us and try to hunt us down. He’s not happy that we are leaving his territory and will do whatever it takes to get us back.
The devil comes after us when we hold onto things that he feels are his, like envy, malice pride and hatred. No matter what the devil plans he cannot control you if like Jacob, you have an intimate relationship with God and place yourself in His hands. He can help you get rid of the idols in your life that cause sin. As you continue through this year, I encourage you to practice leaving your bad habits behind and head back to God’s camp.
Olecia Addo
Messages from Above