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Daily Devotion: Genesis 32:27-28

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Genesis 32:27-28    "And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.  (28)  And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed."

At this point, Jacob is about to confront Esau. He had no idea what was about to happen, but he realized there was no way around it. He wrestled with God all night. He had already strategically placed his livestock, his servants, and his families in a particular order. His desire was to preserve his family and he felt he had the best plan in order to accomplish that. But he had been brought to the place where he knew his need for the Lord. We saw yesterday that his prayer was, "Lord, you promised you would surely do me good." Now he was at the place where he had extinguished all other plans and the Lord was all he had left. This is not original with me, but it's true:  "When you come to the place where the Lord is all you have, then you have all you need."

There are times in the Bible when God asked questions. If you remember at the beginning of this study of Genesis, God asked Adam, "Where art thou?" Do you believe God was really needing to find out where Adam was located? No, He already knew. The question was asked for Adam's benefit, not God's. God was bringing Adam to the place of seeing where his disobedience had taken him.  Instead of looking forward to those daily walks with God, Adam had then tried to hide himself from God. In today's verses, we see God asking a question of Jacob. "What is thy name?"  Did God not know who He was talking to?  Of course He did! This question was to bring Jacob to the place of having to confront himself. He was having to admit to himself and to God, when he answered, "Jacob," that his entire life had been based upon his own misplaced ability to deceive people in order to obtain his own desires.

When you and I are brought to the place where we see ourselves for what we truly are, then we are ready to see God for who He truly is. He is our strength and the light of our life. He is our everything!  "Lord, my name is Steve and that isn't enough. I need you."

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