Genesis 32:29
.......And he blessed him there.
Jacob, the "heel grabber", "supplanter", deceiver, cheater.....was after the blessing from his conception. While inside the womb of his mother, he was wrestling with his twin brother Esau. Esau was born first, but not by much! Esau came out with Jacob holding onto his heel. Jacob lived his life trying to get that blessing by whatever means possible. He cheated his brother out of his birthright, he deceived his dad into giving him the blessing of the firstborn, and worked for his uncle Laban for 21 years until it was time to burn another bridge. Still he had not received the blessing of God that he so desperately wanted. Not until he got into a predicament that even he couldn't weasel out of, did he come into a place where God could change him. The Bible tells us that he wrestled with God that night, and when God touched his hip, Jacob stopped wrestling and just started holding on. It was there in that place of surrender that God changed Jacob to Israel. It was there that God blessed him, and it wasn't a manipulated blessing, it was a blessing on God's terms. That is also the place where God will change the way you walk. Stop wrestling with Him and just hold on. Amen
How would our lives be different if we just trusted God to bless our lives instead of "helping" Him do what we think He needs to do? I've always been curious what Jacobs life would have been like if he had not been a deceiver? Let us continually surrender and yield ourselves to Christ so that He can do with us and through us what He desires.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing revelation of God! I mean God could have just taken Jacobs life from him but He chose to keep wrestling with him. Anybody else would give up on Jacob or us for that matter. But, because of God's great love for us, He continues! God will never stop pursuing us or leave us alone and give up on us! He won't walk away or forget about us! God will always be with us and for us. Even in our darkest moments of sin God will not turn His back on us! Even when we are hardheaded and want let go of bad characteristics, God will do what is necessary , but we will be better after. It may hurt and leave us with a permanent dissabilty, but who doesn't need there will to be dissabled so God's will can enable!
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