The story of twin brothers Jacob and Esau is a story of restoration, not of separation.  True, Jacob tricked Esau out of his father's blessing and birthright.  Yes, Esau sought to kill Jacob for what he'd done, and yes, most of their life was spent apart after the trickery took place.  But it's also true God used these events to bring blessings for the world, including the birth of the promised Messiah He would send through the family, not of Esau the oldest, but of Jacob the youngest.

          Twins often compete with each other.  This past week many of us watched identical twin brothers, Paul and Morgan Hamm, Olympic American gymnasts.  They spent so much time as boys hanging from the rafters of their barn that their father built them a gym.  He saw talent in both boys, but there would be more in Paul than in Morgan.  This Olympics saw every one of Paul's events scored slightly more than Morgan's, yet there was no apparent resentment from Morgan.  In fact, he had only joy when brother Paul somehow bounced back from a huge mistake to win the gold medal.  Morgan was happy for twin brother Paul's success.  The lesser became greater, for he who could have been filled with resentment chose to be filled with joy.

          Esau could never have felt that way.  He'd had his birthright stolen.  Jacob, his younger twin, took it from him.  You probably know the story, but turn to Genesis 27.  Esau was his father's favorite and also the eldest, and the time of ritual blessing was near.  But Esau's mother saw something in his character that alarmed her.  Rebekah knew God had great blessings in store for her family, and she also knew in her heart Esau must not be in that plan.  So she set about to deceive her husband Isaac into giving second-born Jacob the blessing reserved for the first-born.  And once given, this blessing could not be taken back.

          Jacob's mother dressed him so blind old Isaac would think it was Esau whom he loved.  After he blessed the wrong son, Esau set out to kill his twin brother, so Jacob ran off to his mother's country, as our text says to gain a wife, but he really did it to stay alive.  Anything but restoration so far!  If Jacob got within arrow's length of Esau, he'd be dead.  Like I said last week, "attack" is one way to settle conflict, and murder is the most extreme form of attack, and it never helps.

          When restoration is needed, God provides opportunities.  It's up to us to take advantage of them.  It seems here as if God overlooks sin.  Rebekah pulled a fast one on Isaac and Jacob ran away from his murderous brother.  And God used all their weaknesses to accomplish this purpose.  But God always works His miracles with what's at hand.  He doesn't send in angels where angels would otherwise not be.  God does not pull a rabbit out of a hat.  He works with what's at hand.

          Here God used a mother's cunning and her sons' weaknesses to accomplish His eternal purposes.  Esau followed his natural pleasures, while Jacob followed his mother's scheming.  Both should have followed God, but instead followed human nature.  That's what sin does in our lives.  The good we want to do we do not; the bad we want to avoid is what we do.  Who can save us from the mess?  (Romans 7:19)  Thanks be to God who forgives us in our Lord Jesus Christ!

          Esau's weakness was greater than Jacob's, so God worked through it.  That's something else God does - He lets us go our own ways, so that maybe we'll learn from what we do.  It may seem we are pawns in all this, but that's not really so.  You and I have plenty of opportunities to do things our own ways.  God gives us many choices.  Trouble is, sin almost always gets in the way, and so we fail to do what's right.  But again, thanks be to God for His mercy and forgiveness.

          The title of this message has to do with God's Opportunities.  Those are times when the doors are closed but God opens a window.  Rather than cursing our luck or being resigned to fate, let's look for what opportunities God is giving us.

          I want to give you three opportunities to look for in our troubles.  These are three opportunities to see the good in something bad, three ways of being restored to God and each other in the midst of our troubles.

          Opportunity #1 - look for ways to glorify God.  When trouble comes, try to see it as a way to give God praise.  Jesus once said, "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:16)   When in trouble, give God glory - what a novel idea!  When we're in pain we don't want to give God anything but blame.  Why now?  Why can't He make it better?  When our kid rebels, we can't even think to glorify God.  When we're diagnosed with cancer we can only think of being healed.  When things get messed up, we need them fixed!

          But seeing trouble or conflict as an opportunity to give God glory changes the way things look.  Anyone can grumble about his troubles.  It takes no one special to get angry and blame others - we can all do that.  But the person who looks for God's good in his troubles will be surprised with many blessings.

          Years ago a storm quickly came up on lake Erie as a ferry boat left the dock from Toledo, Ohio.  Hundreds of people were tossed about as the boat was tossed among huge waves.  Most everyone was terrified and cried out, except one older woman.  She went among the passengers, quieting their fears, singing to the children, and handing out blankets.  When all made it safely to the Cleveland harbor, many thanked her and asked how she could stay so calm in the storm.  She replied, "I have two daughters, one in Cleveland and one in heaven.  I'd planned to visit my daughter in Cleveland, but realized I might be seeing my daughter in heaven first.  So I left the whole trip in God's hands."  The person who seeks to glorify God in his troubles will be blessed.

          Opportunity #2 - to serve other people.  In Galatians 6:10, St. Paul tells us, "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."  When others see us struggling, we can help them.  We can encourage them by our faith and courage.  Paul once told Timothy, "Set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." (1 Timothy 4:12)   We can do that even if beset with troubles or conflict.  I know it sounds trite, but instead of cursing the darkness, try lighting a candle.  If you're handed a lemon, make lemonade.  How we handle our distress may help others learn a lesson in life.

          Doc and Bess weren't members of my church in North Dakota, but they often attended our worship and my midweek Bible classes.  We sang together in men's chorus and joked around a lot.  He delivered hundreds of babies during his 40 years of practice and made house calls in his Model T Ford.  One night his wife called and asked if I could visit him in the hospital.  He and I talked of the Lord and it was there he told me of the many times he'd knelt at a patient's bedside when he'd done all he could.  So I knelt at his bedside and prayed.  He thanked me for my ministry to him and I left.  The next morning Bess called that Doc had died.  It never occurred to me he'd die, but I never forgot the encouragement he gave me to be a good pastor.  I left his room that night far more blessed than he.  You and I can serve other people, even in the midst of our troubles.

          Opportunity #3 - to be more like Christ.  Romans 8:28 encourages us: "We know that in all things that God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  Conflict and trouble can help us be more like Christ.  They can help us remember our need for God.  They can remind us who we are - His loved children.  They also help us uncover and change sinful attitudes and habits.  Trouble gives us opportunities to get rid of old habits and put on the "new self," forgiven by the Holy Spirit.  Adversity Builds Character - that's the ABCs of Christian life.  Anyone can get through an easy life.  But when the Lord brings us problems, we can become more like Him in strength, and in patience, love, and understanding.

          Instead of asking, "Why me, Lord?" we do better in asking, "Why, Lord?"  Show me why this is happening.  Show me something good from it.  Give me an opportunity to grow.  It might not be just an unfortunate accident, or a tragic illness or a terrible turn of events.  It might also be an opportunity to get stronger, be wiser, more loving.  Your trouble might just be an opportunity to glorify God, to serve others or to become more like Jesus Christ.  It's all in how you see it.

          God grant us faith to see Him more clearly in all our troubles, amen

Copyright © 2004 by Pastor Bob Tasler.  All rights reserved.