Many people submit to God after reaching a point in life where they find that their own efforts are not good enough.
The patriarch Jacob seems to have reached this point when he returned to Canaan and was faced with the prospect of meeting his brother Esau, who was accompanied by 400 men. He placed his life in God's hands and asked for deliverance (Ge 32:9-12)
His prayer was answered. Esau greeted Jacob magnanimously, and the two had a joyful reunion (Ge 33). We don't know what changes had taken place in Esau's life during the 20 years when Jacob was gone, but Esau was no longer angry with Jacob by the time Jacob returned.
Did Esau submit his life to God? We're not told.
Many centuries later (perhaps in the early sixth century BC), the prophet Obadiah spoke of the need for Esau's descendants, the Edomites, to collectively repent of their self-sufficient pride:
"The pride of your heart has decived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, "Who will bring me down to the ground?' Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the Lord" (vv 3-4).
Edlom's pride problem is one that we all share, and we are all to repent of it.
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