“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 32:28)
When we read in the Bible about the great men of God we find that they all seem to have deep experiences with God. The details of their experiences vary greatly but the results are very similar.
Jacob wrestled all night with an angel. The angel forced Jacob to look up and wrestle his way through to God.Then the angel forced Jacob to look in and confess that he was a rascal who lived up to his name. The name “Jacob” meant “Grabber.” He was a mover, shaker, doer kind of man who was always running and would not stand still long enough for God to place a blessing upon him.
God could not get Jacob to wait on his Lord. He had to cripple him so He might crown him with His blessing. We might call it: “The cripple crown blessing of God.” When a man is crippled what else can he do but wait?
When God won the wrestling match He pronounced a blessing upon this man – the one quoted above from the book of Genesis. By changing his name to “Israel” God declared that Jacob was a fighter. He had fought his way through to his God and confessed to what he saw when he looked in. He was then ready to look around and fight through his relationships with people.
Are you a spiritual fighter? Have you fought all the way through your up look to God? Have you won the battle when you look in? Are you winning the battle when you look around and work out all your relationships?
4SpiritualSecrets 