And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”
Genesis 32:26
Jacob had lost!
Jacob had always been clever and sneaky enough in the past and did not feel the need to trust God alone. But now Jacob was defeated. He clung desperately to the Man who wrestled with him. Interestingly, the Bible says Jacob did not wrestle with the Man, a Man wrestled with him. This was no mere man, but a special appearance of Jesus, in human form. Jacob surprisingly kept the fight up through the night. The Man who could have defeated him in a minute, allowed Him to fight all night. But soon Jacob was defeated.
God wanted something from Jacob. God wanted to wrestle out all his proud self-reliance and fleshy scheming and God came to take it, by force if necessary. One can only imagine what the fight might have resembled, a wrestling match maybe.“It was brave of Jacob thus to wrestle, but there was too much of self about it all. It was his own sufficiency that was wrestling with the God-man, Christ Jesus.” (Spurgeon).
Blessings in defeat
We serve a God who is greater than us, and we cannot conquer much of anything until He conquers us. God blessed Jacob. Jacob had the blessing of being defeated by God. He was blessed in his place of trial and weakness. He went from being Jacob the cheat to Israel – the one who wrestled with God.
Have you been defeated by God and so blessed yet? What is keeping you from allowing God to conquer you completely? Would you give yourself into The Potter’s Hand today?
Prayer
Lord, would you come and conquer me entirely that you may bless me?
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