24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. 28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,[a]because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” 29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel,[b] saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” 31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,[c] and he was limping because of his hip. Genesis 32:22-32
The Other Side
Jacob wished to keep his apparent foe. He has learned, in a tough way, whom he has been resisting, and the blessedness of having Him for friend and companion. See Jacob was praying for protection from his brother. He was afraid to be killed. For God to grant him his wish and answer his prayer, the issue was Jacob. He had to change and come to trust God to bless him and protect him without doing it Jacob’s way. He had to entrust God with his life. This was the answer to his prayer. God did not tell him that his brother Esau will not kill him, God did not promise him to protect him He changed Jacob and automatically the protection happened.
What is on the other side?
- Jacob was never the same. Jacob would never walk the same again. He was limping. He left his old walk and took on a new walk and approach for his life.
- His identity changed. The name “Jacob” implies a deceiver, but the name “Israel” means he struggles with God. His changed name was the sign of a transformation in his character.
- Change can be seen on the changed person; Jacob was limping.
- Our unchanged God is in the changing business all the time.
- God answered Jacob’s prayer in a different unexpected way.
- One should deeply desire to change and not let go of God and what He is doing in our lives. What if Jacob let go of God? How many times in our lives did God approach us to make a change in our lives and circumstances and we let go and lost that change?
- The sun will rise as we pass from the place where our foe became our friend, and by faith we saw Him face to face.
‘I will not let you go, except you bless me,’ is what God wants to hear; and our saying so, in sincere, persistent clinging to Him, is His victory as well as ours even if change bruises.
