Brokenness: Me, You, Jacob, And Other Cracked Pots

Jacob Deceiver and Dreamer Series

“Brokenness: Me, You, Jacob, and Other Cracked Pots”

Genesis 32

Introduction:

I read the story about an old Texas Cowboy who decided to apply for an insurance policy.

As he walked up to the insurance office, the agent noticed that he was walking with a limp so he decided to ask a few questions besides his name and social security number.

As he looked at the old rugged cowboy he asked, “Have you ever had any accidents?” The old Texas said: “Nope, I’ve never had “no” accidents.”

Probing a little further the agent said: “Well I just wondered because I noticed that you have a slight limp.” The cowboy said: “Oh yea, that’s because I was thrown off my old bronc last year, I broke two ribs, and dislocated my hip, and while I was laying there a rattlesnake came up and bit me on the ankle.”

Puzzled, the agent said: “Wouldn’t you call all of those accidents?” The cowboy looked at the agent with a strange look and said: “No! The way I figure it, they both did it on purpose.”

Explanation:

Have you ever stopped to consider that some of the trials and tests that come your way are not an accident? Did you know that by design God targets our sin and often even crushes us under the weight of it?

As Christians, God does not let us delight in our sin for long. He love us too much to tolerate it. He wants too much for us to discard it. Therefore, God uses our circumstances to break us.

Jacob provides a perfect picture of this activity called “brokenness” in our lives.

Jacob was a man that wrestled with everyone. As he was being born, he literally had a “foothold” on his brother Esau.

Jacob wrestled with his own desire for the birthright and the blessing; so through deception he schemed to get his way and thought he won.

Yet, one wrestling match only led to an additional one with his father-in-law Laban who was a schemer and deceiver himself.

Finally, Jacob returns in Genesis 32 to the promised land for a final wrestling match; this time with God, and God broke him.

Transition:

Let’s face it: We all wrestle with God one time or another. We wrestle with His will and ways. Sometimes ever so secretly, we doubt, wonder, what He’s up to in our lives. We want to take over the owner’s manual and change a few chapters, and make a few tweaks to His will.

Yet, God never loses a wrestling match. So can I ask you: “What are you wrestling with today?”

Whatever it is, I promise, if you belong to Jesus; He’s not giving up; He is working up to something great in your life.

He is using brokenness.

So through Jacob, let’s discover what God is up to in our life today in whatever you are wrestling with. Let’s enter the ring of Jacob’s tussle with God and tangle with God for a moment and settle the score on brokenness.

Transition: Jacob teaches three ways God blesses brokenness:

I. God Is Present; Regardless Of How You Feel

Vs. 1-2- “Now as Jacob went on his way, the angels of God met him. Jacob said when he saw them, “This is God’s camp. So he named that place Mahanaim.”

Explanation:

Psalm 34:18 says: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who have a crushed spirit.”

As we meet Jacob today, we find that he returns to Canaan and his spirit is being broken. God has a plan for Jacob but Jacob loves control of his own life.

I am not saying that Jacob did not know God; yet whether Jacob knew it or not, He had never stopped wrestling with God. He wanted God’s blessings; that’s why He was returning to Canaan, but wanted them His own way.

Perhaps this picture will help you understand Jacob. He was like an unshelled pecan. He had a tough outer shell that had to be broken.

Every one of us are like an unshelled pecan. We have an outer shell and exterior that the Bible calls “the flesh” that keeps the fruit of God’s Spirit hidden in the hallows and halls of our heart. Yet, God uses many things to break that outer shell and bring out the best in us.

God knew the potential of Jacob but also knew how stubborn and self-focused He was. Are any of you like Jacob?

If so, you are a prime candidate for brokenness. Consider these questions:

a) Why are we stubborn? - We often want to live independent of God’s authority in our lives.

b) Why are we faithless?- We often want to depend on our own power instead of God’s.