Bearing the mark of the divine

"So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, ‘It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.’ " – Genesis 32:30

If you have cheated your brother out of his half of the inheritance and had to flee for your life, then learned a few years later that he was coming with a small army of thugs, would you be concerned? You would be scared silly, right?

It was fear of what might happen that drove Jacob to his knes after he had cheated his brother Esau, who seemed intent on settling the score. You can read about it in the Old Testament book of Genesis, chapter 32. It’s quite amazing how many people get religious when trouble is brewing.

Here’s the story of what happened when Jacob went one-on-one with God. "That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok...So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that Jacob’s hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, ‘Let me go, for it is daybreak.’ But Jacob replied, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ The man asked him, ‘what is your name?’ ‘Jacob,’ he answered. Then the man said, ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome...’ Then He blessed him there.’’

For the rest of his life, Jacob limped because he had gone one-on-one with God. He bore the physical mark of his encounter with God. Whenever you have an encounter with God, as did Jacob, discovering, as have millions of men and women, that God is enough, you will never be the same. You will, from that point on, bear the mark of the divine on your life.

"That’s kind of scary," you may say. No, not for a moment. God is a loving God. When He blesses your life, it is always for the better. You are different.

What are some of the results of an encounter with God? Your perspective changes. You realize how weak, how incapable you are of changing other people, knowing that God must change them. Your priorities change as well. Holiness, not just happiness, becomes important. You become more interested in living right than in living well. You are determined to do the right thing no matter what the cost, and to trust God to do what you cannot do.

Jacob did meet his brother. But instead of the encounter turning into a bloody battle, he made peace with him. The sword was never unsheathed. That’s the difference that God makes.

Never fear to go one on one with God. It is the one encounter that forever settles any questions as to whether or not God exists and cares about you as a person.

Resource Reading: Genesis 33