Genesis 27:30-38 God Can Work With This. Really.

Observation: Isaac had one job. Just one. To make the best of God's blessing from his father Abraham, and pass it to his oldest son (Esau). He had one shot at this. But Jacob and his mother Rebecca, using subterfuge, have convinced him to bless Jacob instead, thinking he's Esau. Rarely in the Torah is a scene told with such emotion as when Isaac and Esau find out they've been had. There's no going back. Tremble and weep all you want, but you blessed Jacob, and blessed he shall be.

Application: One of my favorite TV shows (though it makes me cringe) is
Arrested Development: a story of a self-absorbed, dysfunctional family who, try as they might, just can't seem to do anything right. A refrain throughout the show: "I've made a huge mistake." It's funnier than it sounds, believe me.

Honestly, as funny as the characters are, partly, I laugh because I relate to them. Like the Bluths, I can get a little self-absorbed, a little forgetful, and I sometimes see my own life as a comedy of errors (It's funnier when it happens to someone else!).

But God can work with our mistakes. In fact, that's how God chooses to work. Instead of flooding the world again, God works with us imperfect, self-absorbed mistake makers to bring good out of catastrophically bad situations. The best evidence I can see of that is in the life, death and resurrection of a particular direct descendant of Jacob's, who inherited his blessing, stolen though it was: Jesus. On the cross, what his disciples may have seen as humankind's worst mistake, became God's final triumph.

Prayer: God, I make mistakes. Like, all the time. Thanks for working with me anyway. Amen.