God's will must be done God's way.

"Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; 44 And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away; 45 Until thy brother's anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him..." (Gen. 27:43-45).

Jacob took advantage of Esau when he was hungry and purchased Esau's birthright for a bowl of stew. And if that wasn't enough, he steals the blessing of his father that was meant for Esau by pretending to be Esau. As a result, he fled from his home fearing that his brother was going to kill him. His mother said to him, "...flee thou to Laban my brother...and tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away" (Gen. 27:43-44). What Rebekah said would be just a few days would turned out to be over 20 years that Jacob dwelled with and served Laban. Sadly, Rebekah would never see her son Jacob again.

Although it was God's will for Jacob to be the future head of God's covenant people, God's will must be done God's way. And because Jacob took matters into his own hands (with the encouragement of his mother) he paid a heavy price and almost lost his life. In our lives let us heed the wisdom of the Proverb, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding, but in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths" (Prov. 3:5-6).