September 14, 2004 Teusday
Conquered by God (Gen 32:24-31)

Self-reliance, self-dependence...oh how our world would have us to believe that such is our aim in life! But the laws of Heaven promote nothing of the sort. After a night-long wrestling match with God Almighty, Jacob found himself totally crippled after a single touch..."when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh" (Vs. 25). At first, Jacob thought he was prevailing, but the only thing that was prevailing was his pride, and it was prevailing over him. And how often has God done the same to us, when He sees that we refuse to yield He diminishes all of our hope by a single touch, in what seems to be a single moment. A wrestler's dependency is found in the strength of his thigh, remove the strength of the thigh and every other point of strength becomes useless. Trusting for hope or strength anywhere, besides Jesus Christ, renders our lives useless. How many of us though, even after God has crippled our lives, continue striving through self, thinking that we can somehow become pleasing to God if we just keep crawling along! Jacob "prevailed" (Vs. 28) in the battle against self and was truly blessed only because God conquered every aspect of his being! "And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." (Vs. 26) Those truly blessed of God have found nothing of themselves to hold onto, but cling to Christ alone with all their might. This wrestling match was significant for Jacob, the deceiver, as he finally learned how to overcome without cheating or deceiving others, or himself. Trusting in self is nothing more than deceit. Jacob saw that his own strength was useless and he sought God's help alone. "And he halted upon his thigh." (Vs. 31) God left Jacob with a trying, yet much needed reminder. Don't think of the reminders of your past, which lie deep in your heart, as an obstruction to your faith, but rather as an aid, that will prevent the return of the same syndrome. All of this happened when "Jacob was left alone" (Vs. 24). Self-dependence is deadly isolation well disguised, but dependence on Christ alone is the greatest fellowship one can ever experience! Jacob may not have known that he was wrestling with God all along, until after it was over. Don't allow this to happen to you, let God conquer you now.