- Genesis 32 Daily DEVO And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. Genesis 32:24 – While Jacob was alone, he really wasn’t alone. While his family, servants, and even animals went on ahead, we see God never left his side. Now this is an interesting story of him wrestling with God, but today take the message from this unique story that even when the rest of the world leaves you God never will. How greater now for us is this message because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. He opened the door for us to have the Holy Spirit within us always. Remind yourself in those dark, lonely times that you’re not alone and never will be truly alone. When you read passages that say “I’ll never leave you nor forsake you,” know those promises are directed at you as well. God’s never going to leave you alone. If you have a relationship with God, know that for the rest of eternity you will never ever be alone again. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 512
- I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. Genesis 32:10-11 – As with Jacob, we are not worthy of the blessings that we have received from God. From the air in our lungs, the families we have, the written Word of God, to the eternal life we are promised with Him. Nothing in our story that we have done sets us in a position to deserve any of that, it’s all a gift given to us by grace. As a result we may feel as if we shouldn’t then come to God and ask for anymore. If we’ve been given so much so freely, shouldn’t we hold back from asking for any more? While that way of thinking makes since to us, that’s not what God desires. As with our passage, Jacob had been given so much yet still asked for more help with his fears. How did God respond? Faithfully, and He provided. So keep coming to God with your needs even though you are already richly blessed. If you have placed your faith in Him, you are His beloved child and He longs for you to seek His aid concerning your needs. Never stop coming to Him. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1836
- Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Genesis 32:28 – Here we see God give Jacob a new name, Israel, which is where we get the future nation and twelves tribes for Israel. A unique fact though I found while studying said that while given this name change, “Jacob” is still used for his name twice as often as “Israel” would be for the remainder of scripture. For while being changed by the Lord, “Jacob” would still find himself living as the Jacob we see in this chapter. In chapter 32 we see Jacob greatly afraid and distressed even though he knew God’s promises. We see him relying on his own wit to save him from Esau and his own wealth to buy Esau’s favor. Jacob has God’s promises and God’s protection yet wasn’t behaving as if he did. In short, Jacob wasn’t acting like “Israel.” Let us remember too that our names have been changed by the same God that change Jacob’s. We are “new creation” and not old creation anymore. We are “adopted heir with Christ” and not child of the enemy anymore. We were once not a people and had no mercy, but now were a God’s possession and receiving His mercy in full. Yet, even with all those wonderful changes being made in our life, we can still choose to live as “Jacob.” Understand you are no longer that old creation that is bound to the enemy. That’s not you anymore, and while you can choose to continue to live as such, you don’t have to anymore because of the freedom Jesus brought to you. Grow in your knowledge of what scriptures says you are as a follower of Jesus and begin to live boldly as such. You are no longer “Jacob,” so no longer live as Jacob. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2838
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