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Genesis 31:29

²⁹It is in my power to do you harm. But the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, 'Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.'

Jacob and Laban continued to trick and cheat each the other for twenty years. God told Jacob that it was time to return to his home. God promised to be with Jacob. Instead of trusting God to protect him and telling Laban he was leaving, he waited until Laban was away and tried to sneak off. Laban got wind of the departure and gathered his men and pursued Jacob and his family.

God intervened by giving Laban a dream in which he was told, "Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad" (Genesis 31:24). If Laban was to not even speak a bad word to Jacob, surely he was also not to harm him or to take his flocks. Jacob defended his departure by saying God had told him to leave and that Laban had been unfair in his practices. Laban simply told Jacob that everything Jacob now possessed came from him. They made an oath not to harm the other and Laban departed. It makes me wonder what would have happened had God not given Laban the dream.

Our days are ordered by the LORD. We do live in a fallen world where innocent people are hurt by the sin of others. Still, God can intervene in situations and restrain man from evil. We have no idea how many time God has intervened on our behalf. We are rarely told by the parties that would harm us what made them stop their plans. We are often even unaware there was a plan.

There are also times when the evil of others does affect our lives in very harsh ways. We wonder why God did not intervene. The God who sees all, including the future, knows what will be to our benefit in the eternal sense. We cannot say that because He did not restrain evil in one case that He does not love us or care. It was the free will of fallen man that harmed us. We can say that He will be with us if we draw near to Him. He will help us gain from the difficulty in ways beyond our comprehension.

Consider: If Jacob had trusted God and faced Laban when he was departing, God would have been with Jacob. If we will trust God and do things the right way, even though it is difficult, God will be with us also. It may not be easy, but it will be good.