Struggles with God

~~~ Genesis 32:23-33 ~~~ Psalm 17 ~~~ Matthew 9:32-38 ~~~

...I have seen God face to face,” he said,

“yet my life has been spared.”

Jacob finds himself alone in a physical battle

 with the messenger of God.

Jacob had not anticipated this struggle.

The one with whom he fought

 made Jacob that much stronger.

...you have contended with divine and human beings

and have prevailed.

Jacob, however, did not emerge unharmed.

His hip was dislocated leaving him with a painful limp.

We too struggle with God, but most of the time we do not 

know it is God with whom we struggle.

We struggle with God in our head.

We argue with him about our life situations.

We struggle with God in our heart.

We resist his invitation to follow him in times

 of loneliness and disappointment.

We physically struggle with God...

missing Mass...not coming to God with our needs.

During the battle Jacob's name is changed to Israel.

Israel means, one who fought with the divine...God.

Following the battle Jacob called the place Peniel,

which means "the face of God".

I imagine we all struggle with God at different times of our lives.

Perhaps we struggle just to make ourselves feel better...

Perhaps we struggle with God because we are frustrated with life...

Perhaps we struggle with God because he permits it.

Perhaps the struggle itself draws us closer to God.

God left his mark on Jacob even as he let him prevail.

The Lord Blesses us in our struggles with him.

~~~Peace~~~

God Meant It for Good...

~~~ Genesis 49:29-32; 50:15-26a ~~~Psalm 105~~~ Matthew 10:24-33~~~

 

Jacob having been reunited with his son,

Joseph, gives his burial instructions.

He wishes to be buried with the rest of his ancestors.

 

When I was a child, every Easter we would bring

my grandmother to the cemetery.

I never could understand why she wanted to go to grandpa's grave.

He was not there. We had to be careful not to walk

 on the marking stones in the grass. 

 

I still do not think it is important to visit a cemetery.

Unless it is a way to show that you do remember a person you loved.

Jacob wanted to be placed with his ancestors as a symbol

 of his inheritance or his heritage. It was important to him.

 

Jacob also leaves instructions for Joseph to not

hold a grudge against his brothers.

The father is interceding on behalf of his other children.

One thing parents want most is for their children to get along.

You know the old saying about not choosing your family, I'm sure. 

Jacob wanted some reassurance that before his death

his sons would be reunited.

 

Joseph, being a man of God had anticipated his responsibility.

 

The brothers are counseled by their father to seek

forgiveness from their brother.

Now it was their turn to came to Joseph, admit their guilt,

and seek his forgiveness.

 

'...Jacob begs you
to forgive the criminal wrongdoing of your brothers,
who treated you so cruelly.'
Please, therefore, forgive the crime that we,
the servants of your father’s God, committed.

 

 

It does take a certain amount of humility to admit your offenses.

It takes courage to ask for the person's forgiveness.

It takes courage because, they might not be ready to forgive you.

You open up yourself to their possible anger.

 

But this is not the case here...

 

Joseph replied to them:
“Have no fear. Can I take the place of God?
Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good,
to achieve his present end, the survival of many people.
Therefore have no fear.
I will provide for you and for your children.”

 

God meant it for good...

What?

Can you wrap your head, much less your heart, around those five words?

Joseph remained the protector of his family

until he was one hundred ten years old.

 

We too can rejoice with the psalmist...

 

Be glad you lowly ones; may your hearts be glad!

 

Sometimes we must wait many years

for a Blessing to become a reality.

 

God allowed Jacob the blessing to die a happy man;

his family was reunited at last.

If you are waiting for a family member to admit guilt for hurting you,

I invite you to pray for your heart to be softened.

The Surprising Family Reunion

~~~ Genesis 46:1-7, 28-30 ~~~ Psalm 37 ~~~ Matthew 10:16-23 ~~~

 

'...do not worry about how you are to speak
or what you are to say.
You will be given at that moment what you are to say.
For it will not be you who speak...'

 

It is God the Father who speaks through Joseph

 as he finds himself in an awkward situation.

The very family members who wanted him dead were standing before him. 

Joseph does not respond in a typical human way instead

because it is God speaking through him he shows compassion to his brothers.

 

Because God is giving Joseph the words eventually

he is reunited with his elderly father, Israel.

 

 Jacob's name was changed to Israel after wrestling with an angel.

Jacob, the son who deceitfully received his father's blessing.

 

God upholds this blessings bestowed on Jacob...years later.

 

Jacob must have been overjoyed when he was told that Joseph was alive.

Not only is Joseph alive, but he is now in a position

 to save his family from starvation.

 

God assures Jacob that he should return to Egypt.

...Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt...

 

God was working in the lives of all parties in this story for generations.

 

 

In many ways Joseph is foreshadowing the qualities

we would see in the person of Jesus.

 

This is a mirror of the return of the prodigal son.

The difference is the son goes out to welcome his father.

...Joseph hitched the horses to his chariot
and rode to meet his father Israel in Goshen.
As soon as Joseph saw him, he flung himself on his neck
and wept a long time in his arms.

 

When our eyes are opened to our sins, 'running' to reconciliation

is the way we 'run' to meet our Father.

 

When we are forgiven,

 we too want to cling to our Father in gratitude and love.

We want to experience the arms of our Father surrounding us.

 

Israel can finally find rest in the God of his father.

He is humbled by how God had fulfilled his father's blessing.

A blessing that he truly did not deserve.

 

God shows Israel, now late in his life, just how a brother

should treat another brother.

Joseph acts with love, compassion, and justly.

 

God will provide for all that we need.

Not only will he protect us in times of turmoil;

he will give us the correct words to say.

 

Take delight in the LORD,
and he will grant you your heart’s requests.

 

Blessings are available whether you are the father

running out to meet your prodigal or

if you are the son rushing

out to meet your estranged father.

 

Blessings are in peaceful reunion.

Up Close and Personal

~~~ Genesis 32:23-33 ~~~ Psalm 17 ~~~ Matthew 9:32-38 ~~~

 

Having had total hip replacement a couple years ago,

I can identify with Jacob today.

I did not have 'an encounter with God' resulting in my hip problems though.

Once again we see when God changes your heart he also changes your name.

 

Jacob, from now on, will be called Israel.

 

“You shall no longer be spoken of as Jacob, but as Israel,
because you have contended with divine and human beings
and have prevailed.”

 

Jacob asks for another blessing from this force he has wrestled.

Jacob has come to value blessings; after all he cheated his own brother

out of the coveted blessing from their father.

 

From now on Jacob will come to represent all people...the tribes of Israel.

 

Jacob limped along because of his hip.

 

So was this struggle good or bad?

Jacob was now afflicted with a dislocated hip.

He ability to walk would now be accentuated with pain.

Anyone who has experienced sciatic nerve pain 

knows how crippling it can be.

It is a pain that cannot be ignored. It is a haunting pain.

 

There was no need for the wrestling to continue throughout the night;

other than Jacob was also wrestling with his own conscience.

 

What is heavy on your soul can keep you awake at night.

When we are conflicted within God needs to get our attention.

When Jacob's hip was wrenched it brought him into reality.

Darkness makes it impossible to physically see,

making it easier to delve into one's own soul.

Night brings the cover of darkness.

Jacob was alone with the darkness of his own heart.

 

Jacob had been denying his own guilt concerning his brother Esau.

Jacob had destroyed his relationship with his brother

and now had the audacity to wrestle with God.

Did he really believe there would be no consequences for his actions.

 

 

It takes time, but Jacob does realize the value in reconciling with his brother.

God makes all things right in his own time.

Jacob had been away for twenty years.

God faithfully protected Jacob with his angels,

as was previously promised.

 

Jacob returns to his brother for healing. He no longer sees his brother as a threat.

Jacob is not returning to claim his greater inheritance portion.

 

Jacob had an up close and personal encounter

with what he considered to be God.

Jacob wrapped his arms and legs around his opponent.

He could feel the breath of his opponent.

He could could hear the sounds of their physical contact.

 

We too struggle with our sinfulness.

Blessing for us come in reconciling our differences.

Make peace with your family as it heals the soul

and opens the door for grace and blessings.

Like Jacob, we too must live with who we truly are.

 

Blessings in tumbling with God.

Blindness of Deception

~~~ Genesis 27:1-5, 15-29 ~~~ Psalm 135 ~~~ Matthew 9:14-17 ~~~

 

Today we have the curious story of deception in the first book of the Bible...Genesis.

When reading the book of Genesis we are given the full scope of our creation...

from the creation of everything through the first

sin in the garden leading on to deception and murder.

 

Isaac was old and his eyesight was greatly diminished.

As customary of the time, a special blessing was bestowed

on the first born son by the father.

For whatever reason the mother, Rebekah, plotted to deceive her husband.

She wanted her son Esau to receive the special blessing from Issac.

 

When you lose one of your senses the others become more sensitive.

They almost become hyper sensitive to the environment.

Having lost his vision Issac now mostly relied on his sense of hearing, smell, and touch.

Rebekah went to great lengths; she covered the arms and hands of Jacob with animal fur.

This was the deception of touch.

When Issac felt the hand of Jacob he thought is felt like the hand of Esau.

 

Even though Issac has questions about the timeliness of the hunt,

he trusts his son's word.

 

But Isaac asked,

“How did you succeed so quickly, son?”
He answered,
“The LORD, your God, let things turn out well with me.”

 

Lying creates its own world apart from the real world.

As we know one lie leads to another etc.

 

“Although the voice is Jacob’s, the hands are Esau’s.”

 

The deception and lies continue...

Issac once again asks...Are you my son?

Still not convinced it is Esau before him;

 Issac combines his sense of touch with his sense of smell.

 

Finally his father Isaac said to Jacob,
“Come closer, son, and kiss me.”
As Jacob went up and kissed him,
Isaac smelled the fragrance of his clothes.

 

The ultimate deception is one shrouded in false love

 and empty gestures of affection. 

 

 Jacob undoubtedly loved his father and his mother.

Unfortunately he was not strong enough to disobey his mother's plot of deception.

 

 

With that, he blessed him saying,

“Ah, the fragrance of my son
is like the fragrance of a field
that the LORD has blessed!

 

Isaac gives the blessing to the wrong son in good faith.

The lies and deception were a success.

 In blind faith, Isaac gave his special blessing to Jacob instead of Esau.

Imagine the sadness and disgust when the truth is revealed to Isaac.

 

Deception is selfish and unworthy of any type of blessing.

The truth will set you free in all circumstances.

Imagine the disappointment experienced by Esau upon learning

what his brother and mother had done.

He was not deprived of his rightful blessing.

 

Those who would plan to deceive may go to great lengths

 to create a plausible scene.

Unfortunately we must be vigilant to those who

wish to deceive others. 

 

Blessings lie in the Truth.