Do you ever feel like life is just against you? Sometimes life is just plain and simply hard. Have you ever felt like you were wrestling with God over answers, over problems, over issues?? Sometimes, I think we wrestle things out in our heads, like going over what we could have done differently or done better or could do better. But did you realize that in the Bible, Jacob physically wrestled with the Lord? I've been pondering on this lately and when things are hard, it is difficult to see what our next steps are or should be. Sometimes we wrestle out our feelings or our attitudes and sometimes it is hard to listen to what God wants for us.
24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered.
28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”
But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.
30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
Sometimes we just wrestle with God. Have you ever felt like that? You just don't understand what your next step should be or which way you should turn. Life can be so full of drama and stress that we really have to stop and evaluate where we are in life and where we want to go. Then we need to stand still and listen to the voice of God telling us the direction He wants us to go. It is so difficult to just be still and yet that is one of the most important things that we can do for ourselves. Be still and know that He is God. Proverbs 16:9 is a great verse to dwell on. No matter what we decide for ourselves, God still determines our steps and shows us what way to go.
We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps. 9 A man's heart deviseth his way; But Jehovah directeth his steps. 9 A person may plan his own journey, but the LORD directs his steps.
We wrestle, wrestle, wrestle when really, we should be still, and we are still when we should be wrestling out the hard things. Today, take the time to sit and listen to God even if that means wrestling it out with Him over your next steps.
Growing up, my mom always told my brothers and I, "if you have an issue, let's talk it out. Scream, yell, cry, whatever you need to do to get the issue out so we can discuss it and deal with it." Do you know that even though God knows us, we can still share everything with Him even if that is in the form of yelling or screaming or crying to get the issues out of us and to be able to deal with the issues so life can get better.
Let's bring all of our issues to God and let Him take them from us. Whatever that may be in your life right now that you are struggling to deal with or don't know which way to turn or what decisions to make. Let's give them to God and He can make our paths straight. He will give you the guidance you need, if you just take the time to ask Him and then listen for that still small voice giving you the direction that you need.
Tulips~n~Lace
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