Relationships
12 Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.”
13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are tender and that I must care for the ewes and cows that are nursing their young. If they are driven hard just one day, all the animals will die.
14 So let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I move along slowly at the pace of the droves before me and that of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.”
15 Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my men with you.” “But why do that?” Jacob asked. “Just let me find favor in the eyes of my lord.”
16 So that day Esau started on his way back to Seir.
17 Jacob, however, went to Succoth, where he built a place for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is called Succoth.
18 After Jacob came from Paddan Aram, he arrived safely at the city of Shechem in Canaan and camped within sight of the city.
19 For a hundred pieces of silver, he bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of ground where he pitched his tent.
20 There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel. ( Genesis 33:12-20 )

After years of separation, Jacob finally met his brother again, the brother whose birthright and blessing he had taken. The meeting could have ended in anger and violence, but instead there was peace and reconciliation. A distance still existed between the brothers, perhaps a needed distance, but the hostility that had existed before was gone. What had seemed like a hopelessly broken relationship was restored.
Many of us pray for such healing in our relationships, whether it is in our relationships with our parents, our siblings, or our friends. We sometimes try to force reconciliation, but it is often beyond our ability. The past eats away at the present and destroys the possibilities for the future.

The healing that occurred between Jacob and Esau did not happen by itself. It is significant that after the healing in his relationship with his brother, Jacob went to the source of that healing. He built an altar to the great healer and called it “El Elohe Israel”: God is the God of Israel, the name given to Jacob by God.
To heal our relationships with people, we need to first focus on our relationship with God. Our relationship with Him is greater than any other that we have, and reconciliation with God can influence all our other relationships. Healing in our hearts and in our lives comes when we can say what Jacob said, that God is our God, and we know that we belong to Him.

Prayer:
* In what relationships do you need healing?
Give those relationships to God and start to heal what is in your heart with a simple prayer: “God, you are my God and I belong to You.”