Genesis 32:22-32 (NLT)

It is when we are alone with God that He is able to speak in that still small voice, asking us the hard questions. God asked Jacob, What is your name? To Jacob, that question meant much more than simply what do people call you? It meant he had to answer God concerning his character. It is the picture of a man standing before the court. A plea bargain has been reached and the defendant must now confess; he must say, out loud, what he did wrong—he has to confess his transgressions openly as part of the record.

In Bible times, children were often not given a name until their character or nature began emerging. If you recall, Jacob came out of the womb holding on to his brother’s heel. That is a picture of one who tries to get ahead by pulling the other guy back; know anyone like that? Jacob was appropriately named. The name means trickster, cheat, fraud, con man! Here, alone, Jacob was finally able to answer God. Yes, Lord, that’s who I am! We need to appropriate that kind of honesty with God. Public prayer is general. When you get alone with God all the veneer and outer facades melt away. There is no one there to whom we can lie; and you wouldn’t have the nerve to lie to HIM anyway! You get alone with God, and you get authentic with God, so you can discover that you don’t have to settle for a superficial relationship with God. The name “Jabbok” means to run about and stir up dust. Jacob did a lot of that on that night. It wasn’t a physical battle, but an emotional upheaval. It was a battle within. In Hosea 12 the same word (Jabbok) is used for prayer and weeping. There was much prayer and weeping that night for God to strip away everything superficial in Jacob’s life. He was doing what we used to call praying through. Jacob was not willing to have a religion full of superficiality. He wanted God! What’s authentic about you today? Is it your clothes? Is it the way you comb your hair? Or do you have an authentic relationship with an Almighty God—so honest and open that you will not settle for anything less than Him. Just one word of caution: when you are alone and genuine with God, the next thing that happens is change. God will change you. Jacob hung around the whole night waiting for answers. Here is the bottom line about how that played out with Jacob.

Jacob wrestled all night long with the angel of God. The dawn was about to break. The ancients believed that no man can see the face of God and continue living. Jacob knew, as did the Lord, that the morning light would bring Jacob’s death if the angel did not leave. And so the angel told Jacob he’d better let go, or he was toast. With all the wrestling that night, Jacob wouldn’t give in, even with his life hanging in the balance. He would not let go of God’s presence until he firmly established who God was going to be in his life. Nothing else mattered! And it changed his whole life. If you are willing, He is willing to meet you there at the place where the dust gets stirred up. And your life, like Jacob’s is going to be different.

Reflection:
How has God wrestled with you? How has that encounter changed your life?

*This devotional first appeared in Encounter Monthly Journal, May 2006