The Well
The Well |
|
Connecting Hope to the Hurting | |
Tuesday
January 22, 2008
When the man saw that he couldn't win the match, he struck Jacob's hip and
knocked it out of joint at the socket. Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is
dawn."
But Jacob panted, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."
"What is your name?" the man asked.
He replied, "Jacob."
"Your name
will no longer be Jacob," the man told him. "It is now Israel, because you have
struggled with both God and men and have won."
"What is your name?" Jacob
asked him.
"Why do you ask?" the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there.
Jacob named the place Peniel—"face of God"—for he said, "I have seen God
face to face, yet my life has been spared." The sun rose as he left Peniel, and
he was limping because of his hip. That is why even today the people of Israel
don't eat meat from near the hip, in memory of what happened that night.
Genesis 32:25-32
Have you ever wrestled with God? Well, you may not have wrestled with him in the same way Jacob/Israel did, but I am sure you have wrestled with God. Years earlier, Jacob had told the Lord that if He would bless him, he would serve Him. Now, he was on his way home, walking in fear of his brother, and God met him face to face in the person of Jesus Christ.
Could Jesus not beat Jacob in wrestling? It wasn't so much that He could not, He recognized Jacob's determination to receive a breakthrough and broke him. He walked away from that evening a broken man, but one whom God had touched. Has your wrestling with God left you broken and limping? Be encouraged with Jesus' words to you through His words to a blind beggar today.
"As they approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road. When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was going by. So he began shouting, 'Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!' The crowds ahead of Jesus tried to hush the man, but he only shouted louder, 'Son of David, have mercy on me!' When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. Then Jesus asked the man, 'What do you want me to do for you?' 'Lord,' he pleaded, 'I want to see! And Jesus said, 'All right, you can see! Your faith has healed you.' Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too." Luke 18:35-43
What do you want Jesus to do for you today? Do you need His light to illumine the path you need to take? Do you need healing, emotionally or physically? He wants to meet your needs. However, after your encounter with Him, don't be surprised if you walk away limping with joy!
Oh, Jesus, we need Your touch. We need to be broken and spilled out for You. As the old song says, "Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me." Yes, Lord, break us, melt us, mold us, fill us, and then use us as instruments of reconciliation and restoration for those who hunger and thirst to know You more. Help us this day to be a light in the darkness as we walk the path You have chosen for us from the beginning of time. Like Jacob/Israel, deliver us into the place of peace within the Body of Christ.
