DEVO 11.15.23

DEVO. 11.15.23 “Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.” ‭‭(Genesis‬ ‭32:24‬ ‭NKJV‬)

- Have you ever felt like you were wrestling with God? - We see in Gen. 32:24 that Jacob wrestled with “A Man” - This is no ordinary wrestling match. - And this was no ordinary man that Jacob wrestled. - This “man” is probably the “angel of the LORD” (Genesis 31:11) who is often identified as God himself. - There Jacob was, “alone”. Wrestling with his past and fighting for His future. - His future destiny hangs in the balance. - If He is going to move forward He must shake off the past. - He has to come face to face with who He really was. - He was Jacob, and that name means “crafty deceiver”, and he had lived up to that name. - But just like Jacob, you will never be able to move into your future unless you are honest and come face to face with your past. - Face it, don’t burry it, don’t excuse it and don’t hide it. - Come face to face with it and like the Psalmist, say, ““Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23 - You can never get to where He wants to take you unless you are healed, forgiven and set free of your past. - When the man asked Job his name, he was finally honest. - He said, “Jacob” (verse 27) - The last time His Father asked him that, He lied and said that He was his brother Esau. - He now had an opportunity to lie but he said who he really was. - Then the man said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”(28) - The name Israel means, “He struggled with God” - As followers of Christ We are sometimes called the “Israel of God” or “The God strugglers” - God doesn’t want His people to be passive but to earnestly seek Him for His blessing. - But you can’t be blessed until you come face to face with the curse from the past and break it in Jesus’ name. - Jesus said in Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.” - This is what it looks like to, hunger and thirst for righteousness” - Today, examine your self. Like the Psalmist cry out to God and say “Search Me!” - Ask Him to reveal to you anything that doesn’t belong there and remove it! - Once you face your past, you then put yourself in position to be have a blessed future! - At the end of the night and at the beginning of the new day, Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” - It was the “breaking of day.” - Day Break - time to break from the old and break into the new. - Make sure you leave with His blessing. - Break into the new blessing that He has for you. - Spend as much time as you need. - Give God the time he needs to search you. - And allow God to give you a new name and a blessed future. - Have a great Wednesday ‭‭