Wrestling With God

"Then Jacob was left alone, and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day," Gen. 32:24. Jacob was alone. God had brought him to this place to touch his life, and Jacob would never be the same again. God will bring us to a place in our lives where we are alone with Him, and He starts wrestling with our hearts. We can walk away and choose not to wrestle, but there is a great blessing awaiting those who will wrestle through to the blessing. Jacob had been a deceiver from the time he was born. At birth he had his tiny hand on the heel of his twin brother Esau. He would take advantage of Esau on two major occasions. He took Esau's birthright by trading it for a bowl of stew. Later, with the help of his mother, he stole Esau's blessing by pretending he was his brother, and having his father Isaac pronounce a blessing of prosperity and authority on him. But now Jacob is at a place in his life where he is broken, and is unwilling to go on without being changed. He will not let go of this Man until he receives a blessing. Jacob is facing Esau in the morning, not knowing whether Esau will kill him, or what will happen. "The Man asked him, What is your name? And (in shock of realization, whispering) he said, Jacob (supplanter, schemer, trickster, swindler)!" Gen. 32:27 Amp. It dawned on Jacob that even his name revealed his need for change in his life. His name was changed that day from Jacob to Israel, "for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed." His name was changed, and his walk was changed. From that day he limped on his hip. He had seen God face to face, and he would never be the same. The old man Jacob was gone. The old lying, stealing, deceiver was gone, and he walked with a new nature for the rest of his life. We also must wrestle with God, and with men, and we must prevail. We must win this spiritual wrestling match for our hearts, and defeat the deceitfulness of the old man, through the touch of God upon our lives, that changes our walk for the rest of our lives.

A Fruitful Life

One of my favorite Bible characters is Joseph. His life story is found in Gen. 37-50, but there are two Bible passages where a summary of his life is given. One of these places is Gen. 49:22-24, "Joseph is a fruitful bough, a fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall. The archers have bitterly grieved him, shot at him and hated him. But his bow remained in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob '(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel)' ". Joseph was hated by his brothers, put into a pit to die, then sold as a slave. He had reasons to become a bitter person, but we never find Joseph complaining or feeling sorry for himself. He had a servant's heart, and served wherever he went. Even when falsely accused by Potipher's wife, he showed an attitude of servanthood, and was soon promoted in the prison. The other passage that speaks of Joseph is Ps. 105:17-22. This Scripture tells us how Joseph's feet were hurt with fetters, and he was laid in iron. But Joseph was faithful, until his word came to pass. The word that God gave him in dreams years before caused many trials in Joseph's life and tested him. But because Joseph stayed faithful, he was promoted from the prison to the palace in one day. He became a ruler over the people of Egypt, and was a lord in Pharoah's house. Joseph put James 1:2-4 into action in his life. He counted it joy when he encountered all kinds of trials in his life. The joy of the Lord was Joseph's strength, and he remained strong. He became fully developed in the character of God, and became a man who lacked nothing. He became a picture of Christ to us. He was hated by his brethren, he was put into a pit for his death, he was treated as a slave, he was falsely accused, but he was promoted to the right hand of the king, and finally he revealed himself to his brethren. This is a picture of Christ, being sold by His brethren, falsely accused, rejected and despised, but in the end He rose up triumphant over death, and now He reigns as King, and will one day soon reveal Himself to His brethren, Israel. "Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him," Rev. 1:7. Jesus is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel. As we follow the example of Joseph, we also may live a fruitful life, with our branches running over the walls of our lives to bring blessing to others.

Bearing Fruit Through Trials

James tells us, "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." It is essential that we have an attitude of joy when we are going through trials. This may seem too difficult, but consider the alternative, an attitude of complaining, and anger, and bitterness. These things lead us on a downward spiral that steals and kills and destroys everything God wants to do in our lives. Through trials, God wants us to develop patience, which is the ability to persevere and endure through hardships. God wants us to not only have patience, but to have fully developed patience. That is the kind of patience that can go through any trial, and still be found lacking nothing. This person will not be lacking any faith, hope, joy, or strength, though they have endured great hardship. Perhaps patience is the character quality that we need the most in our lives. We must have faith, but faith without patience will not be able to endure. Patience is necessary in the life of the farmer, James 5:7,8. The seed brings forth fruit with patience, Luke 8:15. The runner must run with patience in order to win the race, Heb. 12:1-3. Through faith and patience the heroes of faith inherited promises, Heb. 6:12. In fact, even the gifts that God places in our lives can only be sustained with patience. A very gifted person, without any patience, can do great damage. The character of patience is what holds up the gifts. The gifts can not operate very long without the character to hold them up. The gifts are things we can see and watch with our eyes. Character is what we can't see, which is below the surface, holding up the gifts. It is our response through trials, that will determine what kind of people we become. Let us serve God, not only when things are going good, but especially when things are difficult. That is where we will develop the character of Christ in our lives.