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.

The Lord is our Healer - Ex.15:22-26

The children of Israel had experienced the miracle of deliverance from Egypt by passing through the Red Sea on dry land. They began their journey into the wilderness, and in 3 days they were in a crisis. There was no water in the desert. Sometimes we will experience times of great need in our lives. This was a test for them, for God knew there was no water in the wilderness. The only water they found was so bitter they couldn't drink it. It only took 3 days for the Israelites to forget about the God of miracles, and they went in a downward spiral, from need, to disappointment, to complaining, to bitterness. Their experience with God had become bitter, and so they named the place Marah, which means bitter. A revelation was given to Moses that saved their lives. The Lord showed him a tree, which when he cast it into the water, the water was made sweet. There the Lord promised them, that if they would listen to God, and do what He told them to do, that He would keep them in health, and they would not experience the diseases that the Egyptians had, because "I am the Lord who heals you". Some of us need physical healing, but everyone of us needs a healing in our hearts, so that bitterness does not take hold of our lives. Heb. 12:14 says we are to look carefully lest anyone falls short of the grace of God, and a root of bitterness springs up, and by it many become defiled. The battle against bitterness must be won. Our bitterness is turned into sweetness when the power of the cross of Christ is brought into our hearts. His love and forgiveness is the power we need to forgive others, and to heal our hearts of hurts and bitterness.
In contrast to the Israelites experience at Marah, is the instruction we receive from James in chapter 1:2-4. James says that when we fall into great need and trials, that we should consider it as joy! With a positive faith that believes God is a God of miracles, we do not have to go in a downward spiral, but we can exercise our faith, and find joy in the midst of trials. We know that through the trial we will develop patience, and as we watch God work through this trial, our patience will be made complete and we will mature. Many times I have said to my wife during a time of trial, that when we get through this, we will be better people for it. With a positive faith that believes God for miracles, we will develop maturity in God, and we will not be lacking in the joy, and faith, and hope that God wants us to have.

Shaped By The Word

Pro. 22:6 says to train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. But that presupposes that the parent knows how to train the child. How does the parent become prepared to train the child? In Deut. 6:4-9 we have a passage that gives us a look at the Jewish home and the training of children as God desired it. First, the love for God was to be the all consuming desire of each person, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." But that was not all. For the next verse says, "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart." It was necessary that the parents carried the words of God in their heart. Then they could teach them diligently to their children, and talk of them when they sat in their house, when they walked by the way, when they laid down, and when they rose up. These words were to shape the family in all aspects of their life. There was no part untouched by these words. They spoke of them constantly, and applied them to their lives in every facet of life. But that was not all. They were instructed to bind them as a sign on their hand, and between their eyes. Some people literally tied little boxes on their hands and on their foreheads that contained scrolls of Scripture, so that they would have a constant reminder of these words every time they looked at their hand, and everytime they used their eyes, they saw life through the Scriptures. But that was not all. They were to write these words on their doorposts of their houses, and again, on the gates outside their houses. They could not walk through a door without having a reminder from the Scriptures. Their lives were continually shaped by the Scriptures, talking of them, meditating on them, applying them, shaped by them throughout their lives. Will we allow our lives to be so shaped by the Word that we look at every situation in life through the Scriptures?

Cleansing

One of the most valuable truths I learned as a young Christian was how to receive cleansing. 1 John 1:9 became an important verse to me that I went back to many times, as I felt the need for cleansing over and over. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." We need to be cleansed, and washed from our sins. Jude 22,23 talks about "hating even the garment stained by the flesh". It is important that we hate sin, and desire to be cleansed from it. I heard a man speak who said that he had gone on a hunting trip for 9 days, and wasn't able to have a bath or shower for the entire time. He said that when he was able to have a shower, it was one of the greatest feelings he had ever had in his life. Jesus was teaching the disciples the need for cleansing when He washed the disciples feet. The washing of the disciples feet in John 13 was more than the need for clean feet. Jesus said, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this." Jesus was showing the disciples the difference between coming to Christ initially to be saved, and learning to walk in cleansing as a follower of Christ. "He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you." The washing of our hands and feet symbolizes the need for daily cleansing from sin and defilement. The bronze laver of Moses' tabernacle illustrates for us the need for washing of our hands and feet - cleansing of our works and walk. The detailed system of sacrifices and offerings of the Old Testament shows us how much we need cleansing. Hebrews chapters 8 - 10 is an explanation of why we need cleansing, and the difference between the Old Testament process and the New Testament solution. "For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified," Heb. 10:14. Our perfect standing with God is accomplished by the one offering of the Son of God on the cross. Our standing with God is perfect through Christ. It is finished, and nothing can be added to make our standing any better. However, as we walk in this new salvation, we get defiled, and need to be cleansed. The cleansing agent is the blood of Jesus, as we see in 1 John 1:7, "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." God desires that we walk clean before Him, and He is at work in our lives to bring cleansing and purity into our lives. He desires, "that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish." Removing spots and wrinkles requires some scrubbing, and some pressure, and some heat. By submitting to the Holy Spirit's work in us, the cleansing takes place, and we are delivered from the snares and stains of sin, as it tries to take hold in our lives. Let us walk in the cleansing that God has provided for our lives.

Eternal Life

Everything Jesus did was for this reason, to give us eternal life. "God so loved the world...should not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16. Jesus knows the importance of eternal life. He came from the place of eternal life, and was going to eternal life. He was the Word, who was with God, and was God. He was the Word, spoken into the womb of Mary, to be manifested to us. Yet He laid aside His rightful glory, and dignity, to become a servant, to be made in the likeness of men. He did not hold onto His equality with God, but laid it aside, that He might humble Himself, unto death, even the death of the cross. He knew where He came from, and He knew where He was going. When He said, "In my Father's house are many mansions, He knew exactly what He was talking about. He was intimately aquainted with heaven. "I go to prepare a place for you..." The preparation that needed to be made was the shedding of His blood, that we also could be given a place in heaven. John tells us that if everything that Jesus did was to be written down, that even the world itself would not be able to hold the books that would be written. We are not told very much about heaven. Only a few verses in Rev. 21 and 22, and not much more. It will take eternity to see all that God has prepared for those that love Him. Everlasting life is what Jesus came to give us. Everlasting death is what Jesus came to deliver us from. Jesus lived in complete awareness of eternity, and the spiritual realm. Jesus knows heaven, and Jesus knows what hell is like. Jesus is the light of heaven, and He is the temple in heaven. He does not want anyone to go to hell, and miss eternal life with the Father. "Lord, open our eyes to live with an awareness of the spiritual world we live in, and of the eternity that we will enter into."