THE STRANGE ENCOUNTER AT JABBOK
"22 And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. 23 He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had. 24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. 25 Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. 26 And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” 27 So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” 28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Genesis 32:22-28.
Twin brothers, Jacob and Esau, were not only completely different, but sworn enemies. Their paths had taken off in different directions, but now they were to meet again after twenty years. For twenty years Jacob has lived with the memory of how he cheated his brother. For all those years, he had wondered whether Esau has forgiven him. Jacob is at a crossroads! Some days earlier, he had sent messengers to meet Esau with a message of peace and reconciliation. "When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” Genesis 32:6. Jacob was scared to death of what his brother might do so he took his family across the Jabbok River, but he spent the night alone on the opposite side. And there at the bank of Jabbok, a stranger wrestled with him until daybreak.
JABBOK:
According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, the word “Jabbok” means “pouring forth.” Jabbok also imply "emptied, struggle, or passing over." The Jabbok was a river that flows from the east to the west some 60 miles to empty into the Jordan River. The ford of Jabbok was the place where there was a conflict between two paths.
Figuratively, Jabbok is a place of total surrender. Jacob gave up his manipulative ways at Jabbok. It is a place of divine encounter. To be in Jabbok is to experience divine intervention. Jabbok is the River that borders the land of Canaan. Numbers 21:24. Today, God has a spiritual Canaan for all of His children. Jabbok is a place of new beginnings. At Jabbok Jacob was wounded, renamed, blessed, and made a new person. By the bank of Jabbok, Jacob was reborn. Jabbok is a crossroad; a place of confusion and indecision. Jabbok is a place of struggle and contention. Jabbok is a place of crossing over. Behind Jacob is the deceitful past. Before him is a new way of life. Jabbok is a place of brokenness. It is a place we are emptied of pride and self. Jabbok is a place of stretching and transition. It is to experience a turning point. Jabbok is a place where we are forced to hide. It is a dark and lonely place. Jabbok is a place where we are forced to examine ourselves. It is a place of self pity, doubt and questions. Jabbok is where we wrestle with conflicting voices. It is a transit point. Jabbok is a place of separation and goodbye. It is the end of a chapter and the beginning of another one. Jabbok is the bridge between the pains of yesterday and the hope of tomorrow. So are you ready for a Jabbok experience?
ALONE WITH GOD:
Jacob was all alone! Everyone and everything he had was on the other side of the Jabbok River.
Being alone with God is a time where you get away from all the busyness of life in other to spend time with God. Sometimes you need to unplug from the noise of the world and spend time in God's presence. This time gives you a chance to rest and refresh your body, soul and spirit. Alone time with God allow us to examine and strengthens our relationship with Him. It is a time of refreshment and renewal. Time alone with God always leave us energized. God uses such times to prepare us for the great work He has prepared ahead. A time alone with God gives us the opportunity to review and renew our strategies. Being alone with God allow us to express our deepest concerns. It is at such times that we refocus on what is truly important. But it takes discipline and determination! Spending time alone in God's presence will not come easy, we'll have to create it.
"Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart," Psalm 24:3-4.
Get alone in a quiet place. Set yourself apart for a time. A time you shut down every other thing to focus on God. Choose a place that is free from distraction. Proceed with a clear conscience. Remove every impurity that will shut you out of His presence. God's presence doesn’t thrive in unrighteousness. Let unforgiveness, hate, malice, contention, pride, anger, lies, lust go. Find peace in your heart. Enter into His gate with thanksgiving. Go into deep praise and worship. Get deeper in the Word. Meditate on the Scripture. Pray. Talk to the Lord. Pour out your soul. Tell Him how you feel. Have faith. Focus on the Lord. Refuse to be distracted. Learn to be quiet. Filter every thought. Listen. Write down what God tells you. Stand firm and stand strong. As you create time to seek God with all of your heart, you will receive new revelation and strength.
TOTAL SURRENDER:
Having come into contact with God, Jacob became a broken and a changed man. There is a point in every person's life when they need to stop wrestling, struggling or resisting God's purpose and plan.
The word “surrender” means to relinquish, renounce, or to forgo in favour of another. When an opposing army surrenders, they lay down their arms, and the conqueror take control from then on. Surrendering to God works the same way! He has a plan for our lives, and surrendering means we set aside our plans and eagerly pursue His agenda. To surrender is to yield! It is to abdicate, forfeit, hand over, or transfer. To surrender is to sacrifice. It is to offer up yourself unconditionally without holding anything back. Surrendering to God is giving up our rights. It means we will go where He wants us to go and do what He wants us to do. To surrender is to cease to resist God. It is to submit to the power, and authority of another. Sadly, our human nature wants to be in control, hence the struggle to relinquish control to God. But failure to yield to God will rob us of His blessings.
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise." Psalm 51:17.
The word contrite in Hebrew is 'dakah' which means one that is crushed to pieces. A crushed heart is completely broken of self and pride. It is a treasure in the eyes of God. A crushed heart offers no excuses neither does it shifts blames for sin. It no longer resists God. The sign of a crushed heart is brokenness.
Brokenness is surrendering your will to the will of God. It is to overcome the flesh and its desires. Brokenness is offering of our lives to God as living sacrifices. Romans 12:1-2. It is handing over the full control of every area of our lives to Jesus. Brokenness is the humble response to divine conviction. It is pulling down the walls of anger, pride, bitterness and unforgiveness. Brokenness is giving up your right. It is giving up our selfish ambition. Brokenness is godly sorrow and repentance for sin. It is genuine humility. Brokenness is laying down your plans in other to follow God’s will for your life. It is ‘not my will, Lord, but let Your will be done.' Brokenness is having genuine concern about the state of your spiritual life. It is allowing God to have free access into your life. Brokenness is letting go and letting God have His way. It is complete emptying of self. Brokenness is to shun sin. So the question today is, are you broken? Are you ready to surrender to God or are you still struggling? As you totally surrender everything to God, He will begin a new thing in your life.
1. Surrender your heart to God. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10. The heart is the seat of our emotions, thoughts, and intentions. Your heart can be right, but if you’re not following the will of God you’re not going to experience all that God has for you. Hence you need to surrender your heart to God. A carnal heart is disobedient towards the things of God. James 4:7.
2. Obey God. Obedience is daily walking in holiness and surrender to the Lord. God draws close to those who are living in obedience. We should emulate the life of Christ in our choices, actions, and words.
3. Study the Word. We must seek to know and understand the heart of God through the Scripture.
4. Trust God's timing. Psalm 37:7-8.
5. Have faith. The greatest gift that comes from trusting God is a supernatural peace that rests in the knowledge that God wants only what's good for us, is always with us, and will never leave nor forsake us.
6. Keep praying.
7. Give thanks in all situations. Thanksgiving recognize God’s goodness and our willingness to trust Him.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6. In surrendering to God, we experience blessings, fulfillment and joy. As we surrender to God He unfailingly directs, guides, corrects, nurtures, and loves us. A surrendered life will hear God's voice more clearly. John 10:3-4. When you surrender you grow closer to Him.
FROM JACOB TO ISRAEL:
Jacob began the night afraid of Esau’s arrival. But he ended the night with God’s blessing and a new identity. Everyone needs a new beginning too. It doesn’t matter what we've done. God is the Lord of new beginnings.
"Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. 19 Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:18-19. Has the plans you have for your life failed and you’re now at a 'dead-end' situation? Why don't you quit wrestling with the Lord's will? Isn't it time you hand over the reigns of your life to the Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent God? He has a plans for us. Psalm 138:8. God will take what looks like an bend, and turn it into a new beginning. He is the author of our story. A new beginning is a fresh start. It means restoration. A new beginning is an opportunity to start over. It gives us the opportunity to make better decisions. A new beginning is a fresh start. It is a clean slate. A new beginning is the start of something fresh. It is the start of a new season. A new beginning is to let go of the old. It means a new possibilities. New beginnings are new openings! You, too, can have a new beginning. Regardless of your past, your life can still be rebooted. The story of your life is not over! No matter how many times you fall, stumble, rebel, or make wrong choices, God’s grace gives a fresh start, a new beginning. Regardless of past failures, your life can still be rebooted. You can have a fresh start! A new beginning is waiting for you. The story of your life is not over!
1. Take inventory of your life.
2. Accept responsibility for your mistake. Proverbs 28:13. Stop making excuses.
3. Stop regretting. Regret is dwelling on thoughts of the past and what we should’ve done but didn’t. But with God we can recover. Things may not have gone your way in the past, but God has new beginnings in store for you.
4. Forget the former. Philippians 3:13-14. Sometimes we allow the past to stop us! We allow the feelings of guilt, regrets, rejections, pain, depression, betrayals, bereavement, and self pity to overwhelm us to the extent that it becomes difficult to move on. In order to walk in the newness of life, we must forget the past. Refocus.
5. Prayer. God desires to hear our prayers.
5. Trust God to work it all out. Romans 8:28.
Don’t panic because things aren’t happening according to your schedule or timeline. Allow them to happen in God's timing. He will not leave you alone. God will not abandon you. In the meantime, trust His plan.
"Do not rejoice against me, my enemy. When I fall, I will arise. When I sit in darkness, the LORD will be a light to me." Micah 7:8. Are you standing on the banks of the Jabbok? Hold on! A new day is coming! As long as there is breath in you, there are greater works ahead. Your present situation is not the final word on your life. Don’t let what happened in the past limits you. You don’t have to be crippled by your past anymore.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17. As a believer in Christ Jesus, you are a new creation! When you receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, it is the ultimate new beginning. God has gives us a new nature, a new heart, a new hope, a new spirit, a new purpose, a new opportunities, and a new life! The life of God is now in you. Choose today to leave the 'old' things behind and embrace the new beginning God has for you.
PRAYER POINTS:
1. O Lord, I surrender fully to You today, in Jesus name.
2. Lord, sometimes I resist yielding my will to You, direct my steps to my destiny, in Jesus name.
3. Father, help me each day to surrender my life and heart to You, in Jesus name.
4. O God, reset my life; bring me back to my original state and place in You, in Jesus name.
5. O Lord, change my heart and breathe Your life into me, in Jesus name.
6. Father, help me each day to surrender my life and heart to You, in Jesus name.
