Genesis 43:11-16: a reflection

11Their father, Israel, said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take from the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry down a present for the man, a little balm, a little honey, spices and myrrh, nuts, and almonds; 12and take double money in your hand, and take back the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight. 13Take your brother also, get up, and return to the man. 14May God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release to you your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.” 15The men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and got up, went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. 16When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and butcher an animal, and prepare; for the men will dine with me at noon.”

When the famine forces Jacob to send his sons back to Egypt, and to let Benjamin go with them despite his fears, he does what he can and then releases the outcome to God, entrusting what he cannot control to God's mercy. May God Almighty give you mercy before the man, Jacob says, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved. Jacob had done what he could, sending a gift, returning the money, sending Benjamin; and having done what was in his power, he released the rest to God, praying for God's mercy and accepting whatever came: if I am bereaved, I am bereaved. He let go of what he could not control, entrusting it to God. This shows the grace of doing what we can and then entrusting the outcome to God. Do what you can, then entrust the outcome to God. Release to God what you cannot control. Jacob let go of what was beyond him, trusting God's mercy. Entrust to God what is out of your hands.

Notice the two parts of Jacob's response: doing what he could, and then releasing the rest to God. Jacob faced a situation of real fear and uncertainty; he had to send Benjamin, his beloved son, into danger, with no guarantee of his safe return, having already lost, as he thought, one son. He did what was in his power to do: he sent a gift to soften the Egyptian ruler, returned the money that had been found in their sacks, prepared carefully. But having done what he could, he came to the limit of his control; the outcome was not in his hands. And there, at that limit, he did two things: he prayed for God's mercy, and he released the outcome, accepting whatever came: if I am bereaved, I am bereaved. He let go of his grip on what he could not control, entrusting it to God. This is a wise and faithful pattern. There are many situations where we can do what is in our power, but the outcome finally rests beyond our control. And there, we do well to do as Jacob did: to do what we can, and then release the outcome to God, praying for his mercy and entrusting to him what is out of our hands, rather than tormenting ourselves trying to control what we cannot. To do what we can and then let go, entrusting the outcome to God, is the way of peace. Do what you can, then release the outcome to God. Entrust to God what lies beyond your control. Let go of your grip on what you cannot control, trusting God. Doing what we can and releasing the rest to God is the way of peace.

That is worth taking to heart, for we do well to do what we can and then entrust the outcome to God, releasing what lies beyond our control, as Jacob did what he could and then released Benjamin and the outcome to God's mercy. We can torment ourselves trying to control outcomes that finally rest beyond us; but Jacob did what was in his power and then let go, praying for God's mercy and accepting whatever came. Releasing to God what we cannot control is the way of peace. Do what you can, and then entrust the outcome to God, releasing your grip on what lies beyond your control. Do what you can and then entrust the outcome to God, releasing your grip on what lies beyond your control, as Jacob, forced by famine to send his sons back to Egypt and to let his beloved Benjamin go despite his fears, did what he could, sending a gift, returning the money, and preparing carefully, and then released the rest to God, praying, may God Almighty give you mercy before the man, and accepting whatever came, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved; for Jacob faced real fear and uncertainty, having to send Benjamin into danger with no guarantee of his safe return, and having done what was in his power he came to the limit of his control, where the outcome was not in his hands, and there he prayed for God's mercy and released the outcome, letting go of his grip on what he could not control and entrusting it to God, which is a wise and faithful pattern, since there are many situations where we can do what is in our power but the outcome finally rests beyond our control, and there we do well to do as Jacob did, doing what we can and then releasing the outcome to God, praying for his mercy and entrusting to him what is out of our hands rather than tormenting ourselves trying to control what we cannot, so that to do what we can and then let go, entrusting the outcome to God, is the way of peace.

Lord, when the famine forces Jacob to send his sons back to Egypt, and to let Benjamin go with them despite his fears, he does what he can and then releases the outcome to you, entrusting what he cannot control to your mercy. May God Almighty give you mercy before the man, Jacob says, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved. Jacob had done what he could, sending a gift, returning the money, sending Benjamin; and having done what was in his power, he released the rest to you, praying for your mercy and accepting whatever came. He let go of what he could not control, entrusting it to you. Show me the two parts of Jacob's response: doing what he could, and then releasing the rest to you. Jacob faced real fear and uncertainty; he had to send Benjamin into danger, with no guarantee of his safe return. He did what was in his power: he prepared carefully, sent a gift, returned the money. But having done what he could, he came to the limit of his control; the outcome was not in his hands. And there he did two things: he prayed for your mercy, and he released the outcome, accepting whatever came. He let go of his grip on what he could not control, entrusting it to you. This is a wise and faithful pattern. There are many situations where I can do what is in my power, but the outcome finally rests beyond my control. And there, I do well to do as Jacob did: to do what I can, and then release the outcome to you, praying for your mercy and entrusting to you what is out of my hands, rather than tormenting myself trying to control what I cannot. Take that to my heart, for I do well to do what I can and then entrust the outcome to you. When I face what lies beyond my control, keep me from tormenting myself trying to control it; help me do what I can and then release the outcome to you, Lord, praying for your mercy and entrusting to you what is out of my hands, finding peace in letting go.