OUR LORD WHO ORDERS OUR STEPS 

Genesis chapter  31 verses 2 - 5 says this;

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.”

So Jacob sent word to Rachel and Leah to come out to the fields where his flocks were. He said to them, “I see that your father’s attitude toward me is not what it was before, but the God of my father has been with me.

This passage is an excerpt from the narrative in Genesis that tells of Jacob's departure from the household of his father-in-Law, Laban.

Even though Laban had been unfair towards Jacob many times, nevertheless, Jacob worked tirelessly and honestly for Laban and his hard work increased Laban's prosperity. 

Jacob, seeing that he had spent so much time enriching Laban,  negotiated an agreement  of compensation from him and under this agreement, Jacob began to get ahead with an increase of his own flocks and this is when the trouble began. 

Laban's sons began muttering that Jacob was becoming rich off of their father and Jacob noticed that Laban's attitude towards him had  changed.

Jacob consulted with the Lord over the fluid situation and the Lord directed Jacob to go back to his ancestral home and assured him that He would be with him.

Jacob sent a message to his wives Rachel and Leah to meet with him discreetly and he told them what was going on and that the Lord was with him in his plan to leave Laban's household.

The complex relationships between all the parties in this narrative make for compelling drama as conflict arose between Jacob and Laban who was both Jacob's employer and father to both his wives.

In the deteriorating conditions, under consideration was not just the matter of leaving one's job but involved breaking bonds between family members including grandchildren.

It is in these perilous circumstances that trying to  reach a solution using human calculus is not likely to end well.  With so many variables and with so much at stake,  Jacob did the correct thing and consulted with the Lord. 

The Lord, with a vantage point that gives Him a view into the eternal destinies of men,  instructed Jacob to go back to the land of his fathers and when Jacob obeyed, the gears of redemptive history turned and the Lord's plan for our salvation moved inexorably along its course.

As it says in James chapter 1 verse 5, "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you."

Amen.