Jacob compromised by making three bands out of his family. When you compromise before the enemy, you will even give away your family. That's what the devil does to you. Jacob took his family, his cattle, and his earthly possessions and made three bands out of them.

He said, “All right, the first of you go on out and meet Esau. He is coming with 400 mighty men to kill me. When you see him, you bow down, compromise, scrape, eat the dust, give him these gifts, and tell him they are from his servant, Jacob.”

But Jacob wasn't Esau's servant. Esau was Jacob's servant. You are not a servant to your circumstances. Remember, God has said: “Behold, I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy” (Luke 10:19).

He has said:

“And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail” (Deuteronomy 28.13).

He has said:

“Thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath” (Deuteronomy 28:13).

He has said:

“The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways” (Deuteronomy 28:7).

Jacob thought, “When Esau kills the first band, the second band will be there, and when he kills the second, the third band will be there. I'll put my wives and everyone else in front and I'll march behind them.” But something happened when the angel helped Jacob to see the real picture. We are told that Jacob passed over before them (Genesis 33:3).

Now when Jacob took the lead and passed over before them to meet Esau, even though he thought he might die. Instead, Esau fell down before Jacob, put his arms around him, and said, “Jacob, I'm sorry for every evil thought I had about you. I'm sorry I ever tried to kill you.” He said, “I'm going to give you the honor to which God has raised you up. Will you forgive me?”

Now we see the truth of the situation. If only Jacob could have believed the promises of God, if he could have seen through spiritual eyes instead of eyes clouded by circumstances. When we do not see the truth of our situations — that the victory is won, that the battle, no matter whether it is physical, spiritual, or material is not ours but God's — then we are filled with anxiety, unbelief, doubt, and fear — all the things that defeat us.

In Jacob's case, the truth was that God went before him and took care of every circumstance. Every one! There was no need to compromise, no need to bow, no need to be afraid. If Jacob only had trusted the power which God had already given him. If only he had known and believed the truth of the situation, the victory was already won.

There is no need to compromise, bow to the demands of the enemy, or compromise. The victory is already won!