Struggling For Your Breakthrough

Struggling for a Breakthrough!

Do you want a breakthrough? Many of you may be thinking obviously, how stupid can he be? But in all seriousness, do you want a breakthrough? I have one disclaimer I want to make clear. When I say breakthrough, I am not talking about the Lord in all his glory with his angels stepping out of heaven to move a mountain on your behalf. Oh, would that be nice, but the last time I checked God did not operate like that. So what I mean when I say breakthrough, is moving from where you are, to where God wants you to be on your spiritual journey because God is always thinking two steps ahead.

Since none of us have arrived yet, we all have room to grow spiritually. I have discovered that for most of us we neglect the fact that our physical struggles in life effect our spiritual growth. The things we can not conquer end up cutting us short when it is time for us to take our Christianity to the next level. Let me clarify myself. The things we struggle with in the physical realm, like lying, jealously, envy, pride, or substance abuse, have a direct effect on our spiritual growth. So when I talk about seeking your breakthrough, I mean conquering that which you are struggling with so that you can move to the next rung on God’s spiritual ladder to maturity.

Now, I want to share, from my life experience, how I struggled for a break through. I am going to take you way back. To the year 1996, when I walked down the aisle with thousands of people who committed their life to Jesus at a Promise Keepers meeting at the New York Mets Stadium. I remember it made my dad extremely happy, but to be honest, I did not experience any change whatsoever. So I began to live life like I knew best. I rode my bike. My dream was to be a professional BMX freestyle rider. So I rode everyday, rain, sleet, hail, snow, I rode my bike. I was dedicated. I got sponsored by the local bike shop and did very well in the contests I entered. I actually rode with and placed higher then some of the pros who have made a name for themselves in the BMX Freestyle World today.

As I was progressing fast, and doing everything possible to succeed, I compromised my commitment to becoming a professional BMX rider by going to an innocent high school party where there was alcohol and drugs and a ton of peer pressure. From that day forward, I entered into a 3 year struggle with drugs and alcohol that almost cost me my life multiple times. Not to go in much detail in those three years, two of my best friends died to drugs, others overdosed including myself, I became not just addicted to drugs, but money. I ended up getting arrested 15 times and I stand here today only by the grace of God because when the rubber met the rode and I was over my head in the struggle, God met me exactly where I was at. I had lost everything, family, friends, and my future. But in the midst of all that turmoil God met me where I was at. So that I could meet him face to face. From the day I met and struggled with God my life has never been the same.

One of my heroes in the Bible was Jacob. He went through a similar situation when his whole life came to a point where He was either going to continually let his struggles conquer him or he was going to let God conquer his struggles. Like Jacob, we can experience a breakthrough when we find God on our own, struggle with God alone, give God control, and endure till the end.

Before we jump into the passage, allow me set the stage. Jacob had not seen his brother, Esau, in a long time and he was very apprehensive about their meeting. The reason was because many years earlier Jacob tricked his brother out of his birthright and stole his blessing. Because of this Esau was planning to kill Jacob. Jacob’s mother found out about Esau’s plan and she arranged to have his father, Isaac, send Jacob away to live among her relatives in a distant land. Now after many years had passed, Jacob was returning and he was afraid that his brother might still try to kill him.

Jacob had come to the Jabbok River and crossing it meant crossing into Esau’s territory. Jacob decided that he would try to settle things with his brother so he sent gifts across the river before him. That night Jacob was left all by himself on the banks of the Jabbok. And that night the most famous and perhaps the most bizarre wrestling match in all of history took place. That night an unknown, unnamed man appeared and wrestled with Jacob all through the night.