Day 11 - Genesis 31-32

ONE-YEAR JOURNEY OF THE BIBLE

Day 11 - Genesis 31-32 (Surrender to God and Win)

(To View Past Posts Click: http://tonyvicreyes1-yearbible.blogspot.com/ )

“Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.  Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him.  And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!"  So He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob."  And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed."  (Genesis 32:24-28)

Jacob’s name meant deceiver or schemer and that was who he was.  All his life up to this point, he deceived and schemed in order to survive and get his way.  He was the epitome of self-reliance and he even tried to have his way in his wrestling match with a Man who was none other than Christ Himself before His incarnation or birth in Bethlehem.

To think that Jacob was actually controlled his wrestling episode with God is ridiculous.  God could have easily ended the struggle at any time but for whatever reason chose to let it last till dawn.  We know from the text above that God did turn the tide of the wrestling in an instant by breaking Jacob’s hip socket which prompted Jacob to acknowledge defeat and request for God’s blessing.

I believe that God had to teach Jacob to surrender his stubborn will and self-reliance through the wrestling incident.  When Jacob finally acknowledged defeat and subsequently surrendered his will to God, God granted his request for His blessing and gave him a new name which is Israel, meaning “God rules.”  Jacob’s new name proclaimed to all that it was no longer he who ruled his life but God.

Are you still trying to make it to heaven by your own efforts and abilities?  Unless you surrender completely to God and acknowledge your own depravity and desperate need for God to deliver you from your sins and from yourself, God will not bless you with the grace of eternal life in His Son Jesus Christ.

You may be one who have already been saved but are still holding on to some areas in your life which you have never surrendered completely to God’s control.  Unless you surrender every area of your life to Christ, you will never know the full blessing that God intends to give to you.  Why not surrender all to Him right now and start enjoying the life filled with the Holy Spirit that God has planned for you?

----------------------------------------------

Today, as I read through the assigned chapters, a profound truth was revealed to me by the Holy Spirit. From the beginning of history up to the time of Jacob as well as to the present time, godly men have always been led by God in various ways. They were directly commanded by God either through dreams, visions or through angels; or God caused other people or events in order to lead and protect those whom He chooses to do so. To give a few examples, God appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in dreams and visions. He protected them from potential disasters that could have resulted from their foolishness and lack of faith as in the case of Sarah and Rebecca being spared from the harems of kings. He put fear in the heart of King Abimelech so that he made a peace treaty with Abraham and Isaac! He led Jacob to flee from Laban and protected him from his brother Esau. I can go on and on; the profound truth God is teaching me is this: God will lead, guide and protect me so that I could fulfill His calling upon my life. Thank You Lord for your unfailing love!