The Marks Of a New Life!

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed. - 1 Peter 4:12-13

You know, a lot of strange and sometimes exciting things can happen to you when you're traveling.  In Genesis 32, we find Jacob traveling back home, and he has an experience that is more than just exciting.  Jacob is met by a host of angels.  Then he receives word that his brother, Esau, is heading his way with four hundred men, and he assumes he's in for a battle, which causes him great fear and distress.  But the most amazing thing of all happened while he was alone at night.  He had a wrestling match with an angel, in which he prevailed, his life was preserved, and God blessed him.

In that encounter with God, his life was changed for all time.  No longer would he be Jacob -- the con man, liar, thief.  He was now Israel, a prince who had power with God. But note something significant.  He doesn't begin to beat his chest and flex his muscles and announce to one and all that he had wrestled with God and prevailed.
 

In deep humility and wonder he says, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared" (32:30). Immediately, he begins to show the marks of a new life.  He is a different person.

Today you may be facing a similar encounter with God. It may have come through a sickness, a heartache, the loss of a job, or some other difficult circumstance.... and it hurts. But the very encounters we resist because of their pain are the ones that can lead us to a changed life and a deeper fellowship with the Lord.

Prayer

"Lord, I submit to your correction as to a dear and loving Father.  Amen. "

We are never closer to God than when we are resisting in a spiritual battle through the power of the Holy Spirit.