Twenty years in the wrong place. A family built, wealth accumulated, and the blessing of God unmistakable, yet something was shifting. The faces around Jacob had changed. Laban’s sons were muttering. The warmth was gone. And into that tension came a word from God: Go back. Sometimes the most divine thing is not a grand new horizon, it’s a return.
“Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything our father owned and has gained all this wealth from what belonged to our father.” And Jacob noticed that Laban’s attitude toward him was not what it had been. Then the Lord said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you.” Genesis 31:1-3
Twenty years had gone by and Jacob had married, raised a large family and accumulated great wealth. God had blessed Jacob and yet not everyone saw it that way. The door of opportunity was closing. The signs that things were not right were before him. God sometimes makes us uncomfortable in a place or with people to stir our nest.
Go back. The command was clear. It was a return to the place where he felt personal disqualification. The deceiving years where Esau was so angry he wanted to kill him. Jacob would return to his past failure. He wouldn’t go on his own, God would be with him. It may not be easy but he wouldn’t be on his own. A promises still applicable for you and me.
Perhaps a closed door experience is in front of you. Is the situation you are in untenable now. Are you feeling restless? These may be signs that God is repositioning you.
Maybe there is a ‘home’ where you left 20 years ago, but it could also be a version of yourself, ‘home’ can be many things.
Jacob had spent 20 years off-grid from the plans God had for him. He was living in the wrong place. It was now time not only to return home but return to the purpose God had for him. God redirects today. Calling His people back to the purposes and places they were made for.
Missions Paul 