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God of Jacob
Have you ever thought to yourself, “Whom should I actually pray to? Jesus, the Holy Spirit, or God?” I sometimes do some theological wrestling about the focus of my prayers, but usually end up with this profound answer: “YES!” There are times I need to speak to my Father/Creator. Other times I need to meet with my Savior. Still, in time of contemplation and questioning, I might inquire about a counseling session with the Holy Spirit. How does this work for you?
The other day, I flipped to Psalms 146… verses five and six. This verse began to make me question and wonder. Why was God being described as the God of Jacob? Isn’t He usually referred to as the God of Abraham, Isaac, AND Jacob? Why is this a singled-out reference to Jacob? Hmmmm.
Wasn’t Jacob the O.T., non-hairy dude who robbed his less-shaven brother, Easu, of a birthright? Did I want to spend time praying to a God of Jacob? Didn’t Jacob also wrestle with God? Now that’s something I can relate to. Just this week, I’ve been wrestling with the sermon and text and distractions to boot.
So I went on a bit of a search for this guy, Jacob. After all, I was trying to enter into a time of talking with His God. I went to Genesis 28, and scanned down to verse fifteen. God said to Jacob, “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised.” That really felt good. God security. I’ll take that all day long! Right?
I flipped back to Psalms 146. Blessed would be me, if Jacob’s God were my help too. This, according to the Psalmist, is a place of hope and God’s forever faithfulness. Again, I’ll take this kind of stuff all day long… and need to more often. For instance…
My family is reaaallly enjoying our new home. It seems to fit us well. Almost perfect. In fact, because of past baggage attached to some ministry horrors… the good and perfection of our new home and family bliss can quickly become a thing of: “I wonder when the rug will be pulled out from under this new cozy arrangement?” I know I shouldn’t swim in this cesspool, but often times I do. But these Jacob-like wrestling times are also great moments to pray, and structure my prayers within the glorious framework of scripture.
So I prayed to the God of Jacob. I will be blessed, no matter what, because HE is my help and hope. No matter what baggage claims the future might bring, God… the God of Jacob… will be forever faithful. I needed that. I need to remember that. I need to pray to such a God. Who will you pray to today?
The pastor at our previous church would ask, “Have you ever wrestled with God? Did you ever win?” Any man who has lived to 50 or 60 and who has not examined his life, and whether it has made any difference at all – even if he is a committed follower of Jesus – I don’t believe is thinking. Any person who doesn’t wrestle with God isn’t engaged in life. Satan will answer our questions with desolation. He will take all the joy from life. He’ll pile grief and guilt up high, and top it off with death. Jesus is my only hope, not only for later, but for now in this life. My hope is in You, God of Jacob.
I would agree that you need to occationally wrestle with God however I perfer the peaceful walking side by side or a few feet back letting God lead. My relationships that I am wrestling with the other person regularly don’t last. I get tired. I am not made to wrestle. I do know people who aren;t alive if they don’t argue.nGod has made us all unique and different. Praise the Lord because life would be boring if everyone was like me.
I appreciate the concept of praying to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Just like we have different types of conversations with our own fathers: sometimes we simply need someone to listen, sometimes we need advice, sometimes we have needs, and sometimes we need forgiveness. Thanks you God for being such an amazing God!
Prayer is as simple as asking God for help. Help in our everyday lives and help with really big things but how can we ask God for anything. Are we really worthy to approach the awesomeness of God? Should we be so bold as to ask God (the creator of all things) for help in our lives? I mean really who are we to call on the name of God for anything.
Well we are His creations and His love for us is so Great that we can’t even imagine being loved so deeply. We depend on man to fill our lives with happiness, love and all of those things that makes us feel warm and fuzzy. We depend on our jobs to feed us and cloth us (which is not a bad thing). When in reality we should be depending on God and not man.
Things with man are only temporary but things with God are eternal. So yes pray to our God and yes ask for the little things in lives as well the big things.
God is faithful and just and he does answer pray. Yes the small stuff and the really big stuff.
Thank you, Pastor. I can relate to your statement, “I wonder when the rug will be pulled out from under this new cozy arrangement?” Unpleasant events in my life often causes me to think, “What’s God going to do to me next?” I wrestle, but is it with God? I’m not sure. Could it be that I’m wrestling with the areas of my life I have not surrendered to Him? Surrendering is hard for me.
I am reading a book called, “A More Excellent Way” by Henry W. Wright. He pulls from scripture to give the following insights on the roles of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He explains that is the Father who has the will and thoughts. It is the Son, the Word, who speaks the thoughts of the Father, and the Holy Spirit, who executes the will of the Father. See John 16:13-15. Also, it seems from James 1:17 that all good things come down from the Father, in the name of Jesus, as a work of the Holy Spirit. Wright explains, “That’s why we go to the Father, in the name of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit performs it.” He also explains that when we have petitions of God, of any kind, then we are to go to the Father. See John 16:23-24. And Jesus Himself instructs us to pray, “Our Father which are in heaven…”.
All three parts of the Godhead require and deserve our worship and thanksgiving, and all three hear us, but the Word tells us to bring our requests before the Father. Thanks Alan, for being so purposeful about sending us again, and again, to the Word of God.
In the new Testament, Esau’s choice to sell his birthright is used as an example of ungodliness- A “Godless’ person who will put physical desires over spiritual blessings. By his negative example, Esau teaches us to hold fast to what is truly important, even if it means denying the appetites of the flesh. Both old and new Testament use the story of Jacob and Esau to illustrate God’s calling and election. God chose Jacob to carry on the Abrahamic covernant, while easu was providentially excluded from the messianic line. Let’s read Malachi 1:2-3, Romans 9:11-14 also Hebrew 12: 15-17 God said that he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy, and compassion on whom he has compassion because he is God. Esau sold his inheritance for a single meal. It is important for us as Christians, to remember we have to keep our focus on God, and to trust him at all times, no matter what our physical self may tell us. Trust him with our mind, body, and soul. We will never go wrong!!!!!
Ok so I really dig this post. (I know I’m a day late, I’m always late!) I progress… So I know I try to wrestle with God on a quite frequent basis. And you know what I find, he always wins. I try to fight his will for me and what he wanted me to do in the first place is what ends up happening. Why does this happen? Well I believe that when I accepted Him into my life he said ok that’s it, now I’m the boss and your my follower. Follow me and I will lead you to an endless life of happiness, blissfulness, and all over peacefulness. And the part that I am still trying to realize is that for the first time since I can remember no matter what happens to me in my life of trials and tribulations, depression moments and hard times, I really am happy and peaceful. THANK YOU GOD FOR BEING SO AMAZING!!! Thank you for being such a great Pastor, Alan.