Wrestle Through!
I love the Word of God! There is so much to be found in His Word and each time you read it, you receive something new. I have been spending a lot of time studying lately and learning to use commentaries. (It helps to be living with my Daddy and using his library of resources!) I have been reading and studying in Genesis yesterday and today. Each time I begin to study God's Word, I ask the LORD to speak directly to me. Let's begin our time together today by asking God to give us a Word from Him. Ask Him to speak directly to our hearts and our situations. Let's get into His Word together! We have much to cover today.
Genesis 25-27, 32
We begin by learning of the first recorded twin baby boys, Jacob and Esau. These babies fought with each other since the time they were in their mother's womb. (Genesis 25:22). Can you imagine what Rebekah must of felt as these two jostled in her womb? The LORD told Rebekah that two nations were in her womb and the older one would serve the younger. When it came time for the boys to be born, the younger baby (Jacob) came out grasping the old brother's (Esau) heel.
As the boys grew, Jacob made a deal with Esau to sell his birthright to him and at the end of Genesis 25 we read that Esau despised his birthright. The birthright included the rights of the firstborn. At the heart of this birthright were the covenant promises that Isaac had inherited from Abraham.
Let's fast forward to Genesis 27. Isaac was old and his eyesight was so weak that he could no longer see. Isaac told Esau to go hunt some wild game and prepare it for them to eat together. He wanted to eat with his son, so that he could give him his blessing before he died. Rebekah overheard this and told it to her son Jacob. Jacob was her favorite son. She prepared a tasty meal for Issac and Jacob put on Esau's clothes, pretending to be him. He covered his hands and neck with goatskins, so that he was hairy like his brother and would fool their father. Oh, the things we do and the places we go when we allow sin to be a part of our lives!
Isaac asked him how he was able to find the wild game so quickly and Esau told him that "The LORD your God gave me success." (vs. 20). Then, when Isaac asked him to come near so he could touch him, Jacob went close to his father and let him feel his hands that were covered with goatskin. Isaac questioned because he said that the voice of his son sounded like Jacob, yet his hands felt like Esau's. He asked, "Are you really my son Esau?" and Jacob replied, "I am." When Jacob went and kissed his father, Issac smelled Jacob and caught the smell of Esau (because of his clothes). He then gave Jacob Esau's blessing.
I find it interesting that Issac had doubts, "red flags" so to speak, that he was speaking with his firstborn. However, when he smelled the scent of his firstborn, he ignored the other doubts. Sometimes when we are unable to see clearly (whether it is spiritual, physical or emotional), we often ignore "red flags" if we think the situation "smells" okay. Let me tell you from personal experience, something can "smell" right, yet be totally wrong. Make sure you listen to your gut instincts and don't ignore them. Stay in the Word and take it to the LORD in prayer. Seek wise counsel from those who love the Lord. Ask the Lord to help you to discern the situation correctly. Make sure the aroma you smell is the aroma of Christ!
We pick up the story in Genesis 32:24. "Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak ." The man had even touched Jacob's hip and dislodged it and when the sun rose, he was limping. Jacob wrestled with the man and would not let go unless he blessed him. He begged Him for mercy. (vs. 26). We find out later in this passage that Jacob was wrestling with God. Jacob called the place Peniel, which means, "The face of God." I read many commentaries and differing opinions of this passage. Most felt as though this was an angel of God. However, as we read the following scriptures, we can know that God had spoken directly to Jacob. He told him that his name would no longer be Jacob, but Israel. He told him "you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome." (vs. 28).
Have you ever wrestled with God about something? Have you spent time fasting, praying and seeking His face until you received the answer? I believe that we sometimes wrestle with God until we get the answer we want and we do not wrestle through until the blessing comes. We serve a sovereign, loving God who has a perfect plan for our lives. Sometimes, we may choose to take what seems like an easier path, when what we need to do is wrestle through the tough path until the blessing comes! I remember studying this in Beth Moore's "The Patriarchs." She said, "God wants to bless us, but sometimes He has to injure us to get us to submit to Him." That is a very powerful, true statement!
What is your relationship with God when you are all alone? Sometimes in the dark seasons of life, we must struggle and wrestle through until the light comes. Beloved, God doesn't invite us to wrestle with Him because He is against us. He sometimes allows us to wrestle with him so that He can refine us and make us overcomers. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31b).
We must put on our armor (Ephesians 6) and fight the good fight of faith! (1 Timothy 1:18). Praise God, He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world! (1 John 4:4). 1 John 5:3-5 says, "This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."
Journey Girls, remember that no matter what you are up against, you are born of God and He has overcome this world! You can wrestle through the crisis until the blessing comes! You will be gloriously refined when you go through the struggle and submit yourself totally to God. Be an overcomer and hang on. . . .The best is yet to come!
Waiting on His Blessing,
Elisabeth
Genesis 25-27, 32
We begin by learning of the first recorded twin baby boys, Jacob and Esau. These babies fought with each other since the time they were in their mother's womb. (Genesis 25:22). Can you imagine what Rebekah must of felt as these two jostled in her womb? The LORD told Rebekah that two nations were in her womb and the older one would serve the younger. When it came time for the boys to be born, the younger baby (Jacob) came out grasping the old brother's (Esau) heel.
As the boys grew, Jacob made a deal with Esau to sell his birthright to him and at the end of Genesis 25 we read that Esau despised his birthright. The birthright included the rights of the firstborn. At the heart of this birthright were the covenant promises that Isaac had inherited from Abraham.
Let's fast forward to Genesis 27. Isaac was old and his eyesight was so weak that he could no longer see. Isaac told Esau to go hunt some wild game and prepare it for them to eat together. He wanted to eat with his son, so that he could give him his blessing before he died. Rebekah overheard this and told it to her son Jacob. Jacob was her favorite son. She prepared a tasty meal for Issac and Jacob put on Esau's clothes, pretending to be him. He covered his hands and neck with goatskins, so that he was hairy like his brother and would fool their father. Oh, the things we do and the places we go when we allow sin to be a part of our lives!
Isaac asked him how he was able to find the wild game so quickly and Esau told him that "The LORD your God gave me success." (vs. 20). Then, when Isaac asked him to come near so he could touch him, Jacob went close to his father and let him feel his hands that were covered with goatskin. Isaac questioned because he said that the voice of his son sounded like Jacob, yet his hands felt like Esau's. He asked, "Are you really my son Esau?" and Jacob replied, "I am." When Jacob went and kissed his father, Issac smelled Jacob and caught the smell of Esau (because of his clothes). He then gave Jacob Esau's blessing.
I find it interesting that Issac had doubts, "red flags" so to speak, that he was speaking with his firstborn. However, when he smelled the scent of his firstborn, he ignored the other doubts. Sometimes when we are unable to see clearly (whether it is spiritual, physical or emotional), we often ignore "red flags" if we think the situation "smells" okay. Let me tell you from personal experience, something can "smell" right, yet be totally wrong. Make sure you listen to your gut instincts and don't ignore them. Stay in the Word and take it to the LORD in prayer. Seek wise counsel from those who love the Lord. Ask the Lord to help you to discern the situation correctly. Make sure the aroma you smell is the aroma of Christ!
We pick up the story in Genesis 32:24. "Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak ." The man had even touched Jacob's hip and dislodged it and when the sun rose, he was limping. Jacob wrestled with the man and would not let go unless he blessed him. He begged Him for mercy. (vs. 26). We find out later in this passage that Jacob was wrestling with God. Jacob called the place Peniel, which means, "The face of God." I read many commentaries and differing opinions of this passage. Most felt as though this was an angel of God. However, as we read the following scriptures, we can know that God had spoken directly to Jacob. He told him that his name would no longer be Jacob, but Israel. He told him "you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome." (vs. 28).
Have you ever wrestled with God about something? Have you spent time fasting, praying and seeking His face until you received the answer? I believe that we sometimes wrestle with God until we get the answer we want and we do not wrestle through until the blessing comes. We serve a sovereign, loving God who has a perfect plan for our lives. Sometimes, we may choose to take what seems like an easier path, when what we need to do is wrestle through the tough path until the blessing comes! I remember studying this in Beth Moore's "The Patriarchs." She said, "God wants to bless us, but sometimes He has to injure us to get us to submit to Him." That is a very powerful, true statement!
What is your relationship with God when you are all alone? Sometimes in the dark seasons of life, we must struggle and wrestle through until the light comes. Beloved, God doesn't invite us to wrestle with Him because He is against us. He sometimes allows us to wrestle with him so that He can refine us and make us overcomers. "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31b).
We must put on our armor (Ephesians 6) and fight the good fight of faith! (1 Timothy 1:18). Praise God, He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world! (1 John 4:4). 1 John 5:3-5 says, "This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."
Journey Girls, remember that no matter what you are up against, you are born of God and He has overcome this world! You can wrestle through the crisis until the blessing comes! You will be gloriously refined when you go through the struggle and submit yourself totally to God. Be an overcomer and hang on. . . .The best is yet to come!
Waiting on His Blessing,
Elisabeth
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