Thoughts about Jacob

Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” Genesis 32:26

Jacob got off to a bad start in life. When it came to business practices, he had more angles than a pyramid! First he cheated his older brother, Esau, then his father-in-law, Laban. Then, one night, the Angel of the Lord showed up in his tent and Jacob wrestled with Him until daybreak. As the sun rose, the Angel said to him, ‘Let me go, for it is daybreak.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ At that point the Angel told him he would no longer be called by his old name, Jacob, which means ‘deceiver’, but by his new name, Israel, which means ‘a prince with God’. Up until this time Jacob thought making money would make him happy, but it didn’t; it almost cost him his family. Sound familiar? But after wrestling with God he received a new name, a new nature, a new walk and a new future. Isn’t that what you want too? Well, the good news is—you can have it! The Bible says, ‘If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new’ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Jacob was a self-made man. The problem was he wasn’t enjoying the life he’d made for himself. He didn’t know he’d been born for a purpose greater than merely acquiring ‘stuff’, and it was only in God’s presence that he discovered this. His story in a nutshell is this: Jacob was who he was. He wanted to be like Esau, but, Israel, a prince with God, was who God made him. And God can do the same for you if you let Him.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, I can’t wrestle with You and win – I give up – Change me! In Jesus’ Name, Amen