Genesis 32:24-32 – “ And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.”
Today, as I read, prayed, and pondered the Word, I kept hearing, “Are you desperate?” Desperation in the flesh can lead to wrong decisions and associations. Desperation creates a longing that must be filled. We fill it with human efforts or by God’s Spirit and Love.
Jacob’s trek back home was filled with fear. He was desperate, fearing Esau’s wrath and 20 years of hate. He knew his own heart and envisioned death as his fate. The night before meeting Esau and his army of 400, Jacob’s desperation took a different twist.
In Genesis 32, Jacob was alone with his thoughts and prayers. The Bible says a man wrestled with him all night. I think we often miss the revelation that God took the initiative. Jacob may have been confused about what was happening, as we are in tests and trials. But his survival instinct drove him to wrestle with this heavenly visitor.
At daybreak, the man touched or smote his hip, dislocating the hip socket. I have had dislocated joints, and the pain would normally end the struggle, but Jacob was desperate. He kept wrestling. In his struggle, it seems he began to realize that this was not an ordinary fight but a spiritual one. He said, “I won’t let you go unless you bless me.”
The man, or angel, did something strange. He asked what Jacob’s name was. Why? I have learned that God sometimes asks questions to bring us face-to-face with the real issue. Jacob’s name indicates a flawed character. God was causing him to admit his flaws. Then, He changed his name because, in a time of desperation, Jacob’s character was changed.
His new name was Israel. God said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but rather Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men, and you have overcome.” Let me suggest that the struggle with men could be rendered “struggled with the flesh.” This is different!
In his desperation, he was transformed. The question for us is, “How desperate are we to know God fully and be His wholly?” Do we pray whimsical prayers and give up saying, “must not be God’s will.” Thereby blaming God for our failure through our lack of desperation.
If having God is more important than life or pain, we will reign with Him. When He becomes the consuming passion of our hearts, we will experience the transformation Jacob experienced. The question is, “Are we desperate? How desperate are we?” God is here! Today is a day of victory if we will receive it and act upon His Promises following His guidance.
Become desperate for All of God, and God will give You His All as you give Him your all.
