When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him.
--Genesis 32:25
Are you struggling with God? I mean, are you really wrestling with him over who’s in control of your life?
Well, you wouldn’t be the first. We find in Scripture that Jacob wrestled with God both spiritually and physically. And when God wounded Jacob in that wrestling experience, by taking his hip out of joint, Jacob learned life’s most important lesson.
That injury served as a painful reminder of when he finally came to the end of himself…to the end of his self-reliance, of his conniving, and of the capitulation of his faith.
But more than that, Jacob came to the place where he discovered what you and I…and every Christ follower…needs to know. It’s in our weakness that we are made strong!
You see, the blessing of God can only come when we are broken! God wants to get the “Jacob” out of each of us. And he will often use painful experiences to do it.
Thankfully, we can also choose to have a broken and contrite spirit before God, but the fact is that most of us go through the broken experiences to learn this lesson.
If God has broken you, throw yourself on his mercy. Let this be the end of yourself and the beginning of complete reliance on him.
IT’S IN OUR WEAKNESS THAT WE’RE MADE STRONG!
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practise wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties. Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.”
Psalm 141:3–5
I came across this thought-provoking statement recently, “Among my most prized possessions are the words that I have never spoken.” The impact of our words goes much further than most people realize, and often we say things carelessly or thoughtlessly without considering the effect they will have on those who hear them. Many people have been wounded by casually spoken words that did not have that intention. And tragically there are even some cases where words are used to deliberately and purposefully hurt and wound others.
The power of words places an enormous responsibility on us to guard carefully what we say both to and about others. Most of us can remember either words of praise that encouraged us to keep going and do better or words of criticism that made us feel hopeless and want to give up—even though those words were spoken many years, even decades ago. As we reflect on the power words have had in our lives, we should also consider the impact our words will have on those who hear them.
David wrote, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14). The more care and consideration we give to our words before speaking, the more likely we are to say things that are helpful and uplifting. We must never forget that God is measuring every word that we utter.
Today’s Growth Principle:
Think before you speak so that you use the incredible power of words to accomplish good things.
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