Walk With A Limp, Hands Up Who's Perfect?

What is it with God?

It never ceases to amaze me the type of people God uses for great purpose

I would have expected the most gifted, handsome, athletic, warrior, intellectual and generally those that reflected his perfection to project that “Look at me I’m right with God” persona to make us all feel our failures and turn

But that it seems is not Gods way

The saying is “God moves in mysterious ways” could be translate to “God does not move as mans ways”

God is God so lets look a a few of his chosen ones to learn a bit more of his character and use that to strengthen our walk and help us reach out to those hurting, those broken, those still needing to hear the God news of Gods love, Gods offer to save and transform.

Genesis 32; 21 - 31 Jacob Wrestles With God

Jacob had an interesting relationship with his brother Esau

Firstly he managed to take his birth right as first born of Isaac for a blow of stew

Then he tricked his dying Farther into believing he was Esau and got his Farther to bless him and basically give him his brother inheritance and his right to the covenant from God

Because of their history Esau wanted to kill Jacob so Jacob fled

In the years that passed Jacob he acquired two Wives, several children and was wealth in terms of animals and servants by various cunning ways and “creative” means

The night when he wrestled was the night before he returned to the land were Esau lived

The land promised to his Fathers family by God the promised land given to Abraham, the covenant passed on to Isaac then taken from Esau by Jacob

So here was Jacob on the eve of entering his fulfilment, his promised land, does he just rush in a claim it all

No fearful of his brother he sends his servants ahead of him with his animals in several groups crossing the river to hopefully pacify his brother, then he sends his wives and children and then there is Jacob alone on the banks of the Jabbok

That night he gets a visitor some say an Angel, some say God and clearly a messenger of the divine purpose for Jacob and the covenant of his inheritance

Jacob then wrestles through the night a fight starting in darkness and alone and ending in the light with God

Have you ever had a fight in the dark alone?

This is the story of Jacobs salvation his transformation by the presence of God, but note it does not just happen it is a grapple it is if you like an act of relationship from God a process tailored in this case for Jacob but with a message for us all

If we want to reach our promised land the land and person God promises he will make us into then we need to be prepared to let go

Let go of our ways, dependency on our strength our perception of our perfection and turn to God to allow him to strip always all from us that is not of him to transform us, to take us from darkness to light

We can do this by turning to Jesus, just as we are and give our selves to him, then the Holy Spirit will start this transformation process as it is said from the inside to the out, sanctify us, making us holy like Jesus

At the end of his fight Jacob demands a bless and gets a new name Israel this is God giving Jacob the right to the covenant given to Abraham

This is the God whom told Moses he can be known as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

God put Jacobs name in the place of honour once Jacob had surrendered to God and allowed his purpose his will to be done

Think what we might gain when we surrender to God, before I gave my live to Jesus all I could think of was the things I would lose, but after turning to Jesus I realised they were worthless things in comparison

So even one who would trick and steal from his own family can be made right with God

Who next well moving on in the Biblical chronology lets consider Moses.

Exodus 3: 1 - 15: Moses and the Burning Bush

Moses a Hebrew by birth but raised as an Egyptian noble a member of the royal house a prince of Egypt

At 40 years went to his people is Egypt and interceded when he saw an Egyptian slave master beating an Israelite slave, it went badly and Moses basically murdered the Egyptian

Moses fled after he realised that his crime was known and the Israelites did not thank him for it