Lesson Learned

Like in a previous post I wrote a while back, this week was…HARD.

I definitely wasn’t at the same level of frustration as before, but it felt like I was wrestling with something different. Something bigger than myself; I was wrestling with my purpose.

Often we hear people running, ignoring, denying purpose because of the weight it carries or the life changes that must be made to accept it. However, for me, this was beyond acceptance of purpose, this was about persistence.

What do you do when you come face to face with your purpose?

In Genesis 32:24, Jacob is all alone in his own camp, when a man comes wrestles with him from night until almost daybreak. Do you know how many hours that is to fight with someone?! This had to be exhausting and painful (vs 25) for Jacob yet, he persisted because he knew something good was to come out of it. Verse 26 NLT says, “Then the man said, ‘Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’”

For many of us, we might view our purpose or call like this. For me, God randomly called me out one day, telling me what was predestined for me to do for Him. It felt like it almost snuck up on me, and like Jacob, I wrestled with it. That’s the part of purpose that many of us get stuck in. Instead of seeing purpose as a means to our future, we see it as a means to an end. We try to run and hide, already expressing defeat before we ever engage. This was not so for Jacob, and it should not be for us.

Jacob came face to face with promise, throwing blows just as hard as promise was throwing back at him. Here’s the thing:

When we accept purpose, we are accepting both benefits and consequences.

I am not saying that we’re being punished in our purpose. No! What I am saying is that, our acceptance of our truth in God can cause some pain. For Jacob, it caused him to walk with a limp (Gen. 32:31). For me, it caused me to lose some friends I really liked. For you, your pain from purpose may be completely different. No one said that being purposed or called would be easy, but it is worth fighting for.

So as we look at verse 26, Jacob’s words of “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” We have to think in our minds, I will not let go of what God promised until He blesses me. I will not shift in this purpose or what I was destined to do until God blesses me. I will not let go of my Father’s will until He blesses me. I will not stop until I see it through to the end.

Think to yourself now: Am I going to choose to give up or keep fighting?

Seriously, are you going to allow a little pain to deter you from reaching your destiny?

If you don’t know the answer, I’ll help you:

NO

If you keep reading Genesis 23:28, we see what Jacob has reaped because of his persistence. It says, ” ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob,’ the man told him. ‘From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.’” Jacob’s name changed; it’s important to note that before his name meant deceiver, which is a reminder of his past with his brother Esau. However, before he was about to meet with his brother again, with his name change of Israel, which means “God fights”. God not only honored Jacob’s persistence in his fight of faith in believing for a blessing, but God gave him a reminder that he won favorably with God and with man. Jacob, now Israel, was about to be blessed and unfearful because of what God had destined for him for his future. Israel’s future was certain because of God’s removal of the past and the decision for persistence in purpose.

There are so many other events in Jacob’s life that we can learn a lesson from, and many others in the Word of God. However, one thing I want you, the one who is reading this, to grasp: When God confronts you with His purpose for you, don’t be afraid; don’t be fearful. Instead, take it by the reins, fight back, and don’t let go until you see the promise fulfilled in your life.

LESSON LEARNED

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Be blessed!

Chan!

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