Daily Prayer ©2006

The Struggle Within - 
The Story of Jacob and Esau
by BJ Armstrong

When we think about the phrase "the struggle within" we commonly place it into an individualistic perspective. We often define this type of struggle as something that we are wrestling with internally, whether it is spiritual, emotional, or physical. However, "the struggle within" does not always have to be an internal conflict within an individual. It can also be an internal conflict between two people. What? I know it sounds weird, but stay with me.

Jacob and Esau is a story of two brothers, twins even, who didn’t like each other very much. They fought in their mother’s womb, they fought as they grew through life, and even their parents were split on whom their favorite was. The Bible tells us that "the babies jostled inside their mother’s belly" and that "[Jacob] came out with his hand grasping Esau’s heel." The "struggle within" between the two had begun.

Sometimes, we simply "just don’t like someone." It could be a brother, sister, cousin, aunt, uncle, etc . . . It is common and we see it happen right here in the Bible. The positive thing is that God can still work forgiveness in spite of this conflict and bring peace among rivals. Sure there are accounts of deceit, anger, and other things that we would not relate to men of God. However, the end result in this story is reconciliation and forgiveness. Given, Jacob’s people (Israel) and Esau’s people (Edom) will feud for many years after Jacob and Esau are gone, but Jacob and Esau reconcile despite their internal conflict with each other.

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