Jacob Wrestles With God

Hi ladies it's me again and happy Tuesday! I hope and pray that each of you ladies and your families are doing well. I'm happy to present another blog called "Jacob Wrestles With God". This story in the Bible doesn't get talked about very much in the body of Christ but I believe it's a very important one. You can read this from the Bible mentioned in the book of Genesis 32:24-35 when Jacob was left alone and wrestled with the man from night until the crack of dawn! (Side note Jacob is the son Isaac and Rebekah, twin brother of Esau, husband of Rachel and Leah, and father of Joseph in the Old Testament, his eleven brothers, and of his daughter Dinah!) Here's another important point about Jacob. Jacob for those of you who may or may not remember was a "trickster". Jacob wanted the birthright of his twin brother Esau (Esau was the older twin and Jacob was the younger twin) so he along with his mom Rebekah tricked blind Isaac with hairy skins to get the blessing! Not only that Esau sold his birthright in order to gain a boll of soup from his twin brother Jacob! In other words Jacob manipulated and used deceit to get what he wanted! You ladies can read about that account in Genesis 25 and Genesis 27 that talk about those circumstances. When Esau found out about it he plotted to kill Jacob for robbing his blessing but Rebekah sent Jacob away to his Uncle Laban and lived with his for twenty years! As I mentioned Jacob married Rachel and Leah mentioned in Genesis 29 and y'all will learn there was severe tension in their relationship which is for another blog. Also Jacob had tins of kids with his wives and servants which I believe I'll share for another blog. Also Laban changed Jacob's wages a number of times while working for Uncle Laban proving that unfortunately Laban was a manipulator and trickster as well too. It's important to understand what Jacob's life was like before he wrestled with God and as y'all can see he didn't have much godly character. Even though Jacob had a dream mentioned in Genesis 28 about angels going up and down the ladder with God at the top, there were areas in his character that needed to change. So when Jacob was by himself he wrestled with an angel even though some theologians believe it was possibly with Jesus! Whew! The Bible says that Jacob's leg was hurt but he wouldn't stop wrestling! The man urged him to let him go but Jacob refused to stop until he got blessed! It was then that God asked him what his name was and it's Jacob but then his name got changed to Israel! Names in the Bible were important because names defined identity. For example the name Abraham means "Father of many nations". Sarah means "Princess of many nations". The name Emmanuel means "God is with us". The name Jesus means "Savior or salvation is of the Lord". Christ means "Messiah" and Messiah means "Anointed One". These are some examples of names being important in the Bible. Jacob's name means "Subplanter or deceivor" (Satan's name means deceivor too!) but the name Israel means "Prince". He fought with the Lord until his name was changed and his life was preserved! Why was the wrestle important and how does that apply to today? Well Jacobs wrestle had to do with dying to his flesh as well as him recognizing his need to change his identity. Isn't it important for us Christians with the help of the Holy Spirit to die to the flesh and let go of our old identity? Before we knew Christ as Lord and Savior and encountered the Holy Spirit evidence of speaking in tongues we were lost, hell bound, and lived life with no purpose. But because of Christ we have a new identity which is why we're called Christians. Jacob needed a new identity which is why he got the name Israel. Another point I want to make is what things are you ladies wrestling with? Is it your health, a wayward son or daughter, issues in your marriage, financial challenges, legal battles, trauma of your past, or singleness? What are prayers you poured out to God or what spiritual battles are you currently dealing with that are overwhelming? I pray that the story of Jacob is an encouragement to y'all to know that God sees your struggle and your wrestle. Have you wrestled to submit to the will of God above your flesh especially in challenging situations? I know I can relate to that and so can Jacob. Let the struggle and the wrestle make you stronger and know that you'll come out on the other side stronger in the Lord more. If you ladies you're going through spiritual battles and need a safe place to pour your heart out especially in prayer I'd encourage you ladies to join my virtual weekly prayer meetings and have a supportive community pray with you about your personal issues. Of course in the weekly prayer meeting we also will continue to pray for America to come back to God in addition to praying for your personal needs! That's what I wanted to share with you ladies. Blessings to each of you ladies and have a blessed week in the Lord!










