Meditate
On
“My
brother, I have plenty,” Esau answered. “Keep what you have for yourself.” But
Jacob insisted, “No, if I have found favor with you, please accept this gift
from me…for God has been very gracious to me. I have more than enough.”
Genesis
33:9–11, NLT
Grace Flows When You Stop Struggling
Most
people would have given up on Jacob, the scheming deceiver and manipulator. But
not God.
One
night, while attempting to appease the brother he had stolen from, Jacob met
the Lord. He grabbed hold of the Lord and for hours, tried to wrestle a
blessing from Him. What did the Lord do? He touched Jacob’s hip socket and put
it out of joint, so that Jacob wound up helpless before the Lord.
The
Lord changed Jacob that night. He showed Jacob how it was only when Jacob’s
grabbing and wrestling finally stopped that His grace was able to flow. That
night, God changed Jacob’s name from “deceiver” to “prince” (Israel), and added
to him blessings that were beyond his own efforts.
You
see, we cannot try to wrestle blessings from God. It is when we give up on our scheming,
deceiving and manipulating to get ahead in life, and completely trust His grace
alone that His provision flows unabated.
BLESSINGS
JOSEPH
PRINCE
