By Not Known
So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” Gen 32:30
In my recent reading on the book of Genesis 32, I was fascinated with Jacob’s account of his meeting and wrestling with God. I think of the times when fear and anxiety plagued us unnecessarily simply because we allowed them to paralyze us instead of turning us to God, the great Helper and Deliverer.
Meeting God led to worship. Jacob built an altar to thank and worship God after his dreaded encounter with Esau (Gen 33:20). In his moment of fear, Jacob had a personal experience with God. Fears overwhelmed Jacob after he heard that his brother Esau was meeting him with 400 men. He tried every means to appease Esau from seeking revenge – gift after gift were sent to appease Esau’s wrath. Who could settle a guilty and unrestful heart? The All-knowing and Powerful God had blessed Esau and had led him to seek Jacob for reconciliation, not revenge.
Meeting God daily leads to transformation. Jacob became fully committed to God after meeting with Him. His name was changed to Israel (Gen 32:28). Sometimes in life, we might become discouraged or slipped into despair because we are distracted by some difficulties and we forgot to focus on Jesus. It could happen when we are rushing and not listening well to God’s word speaking to us or when we slipped into comfortable or complacent circumstances. Even so, the Lord Jesus is praying for all believers, “…Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” (Rom 8:34). When we turn our eyes to God, meeting with Him will enable us to hear His voice daily and apply His truth in our lives. The fruit of the Holy Spirit will grow in us, changing our hearts and manifesting the fruit in our daily lives.
Meeting God reveals His will when we tune our ears to Him attentively and expectantly. For this reason, God came to Jacob in the form of a man so that he could understand Him. Jacob wrestled with the man who revealed his future that his descendants will become a mighty nation – Israel. It was a fulfilment of God’s covenant with Abraham. As for us, God speaks to us through His Son (Heb 1:1-2). We can meet Him through our daily devotion, worship and prayers. God also uses people and circumstances to speak to us or reveal His will to us. Let us be open to the various ways that God is engineering to meet us. God speaks to us when our hearts are willing to listen to Him. Are you willing?