Text:
“And he said, Let me go for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee
go, except thou bless me. And he said, what is thy name..?”Gen 32:26-27.
Jacob ran away from home
twenty years earlier for the fear of what his brother will do to him. On his
way back home twenty years later he realised that the fear he had so many years
back was still hunting him. At this point in his life he had two wives and
twelve sons. He was also blessed with multitude of livestock; that was the
symbol of wealth in those days. By a divine idea Jacob became richer than his
father-in-law. So it’s clear that the problem of Jacob at this point was not
material things.
He had an encounter with
the angel and Jacob asked for blessings. It’s obvious that he was not asking
for a wife or children or any other material wealth. He also realised that he
was not in alignment with divine purpose. Even though he had so much he was
still having an identity crisis. He knew that was the only thing that will
solve his problems and remove his fears.
The response of the
angel is quite instructive. “...What is your name...? What has name Got to do
with blessings. A name is a symbol of identity. That was actually the source of
all his problems. There was a need to get aligned with divine identity for his
life. What was changed was not just a mere name of Jacob to Israel; but a
change of identity.
I want you to note again
that this alignment took place when Jacob came alone to have an encounter with
God. He left the crowd behind and communed with God. Each one of us will also
need such a separation where we begin to commune with God personally for an
inward change that can only take place in his presence. It’s important that we
also learn to spend quality time with God in the place of prayer and in his
word. These are divine moments where we are transformed to come in alignment
with divine purpose.
PRAYER:
There is a divine work
taking place in my life bringing me to the place of purpose and destiny.
LEARN MORE: 2 Corinthians 3:18
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