The Turnaround

Isaiah 62:^2-4 “And you will be given a new name by the Lord’s own mouth. The Lord will hold you in his hand for all to see—a splendid crown in the hand of God. Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City” or “The Desolate Land.” Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight”…”

What is your name? The original meaning of Jacob is deceiver, manipulator, supplanter, schemer, trickster, and swindler. If you are asked right now for your name, what would you say? If you were to be named by your greatest weakness, your greatest flaw what would be your name? Like Jacob, would it be, a deceiver, doubter, gossip, arrogant, lustful, greedy, or will it be unreliable? What will be your name? Pause and carefully consider this before you answer. The truth is that for you to walk in the fullness of God’s blessings for your life, you are going to have to stop making excuses for yourself and call things the way they are. Ruth 1:²⁰ “Don’t call me Naomi,” she responded. “Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me.”

The question to you is, what do you think will happen when you become brutally honest with God? What do you think will happen when you tell God exactly how it is? Do you think God will say He did not know? Do you think if you own up to God today that you are on pornographic sites all day every day, or that you are struggling with lust, God will be shocked? He already knows. You own up for yourself and your destiny. Listen, you need grace to fulfil your destiny and it takes humility to admit your wrong and to admit where you are. Guess what? God gives grace to the humble and He resists the proud (James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5). Jacob got to the place where he needed to confess, ‘Lord, I am a supplanter’ and his life was totally transformed.

Phase four, Conversion Phase. Jacob went through the Crisis Phase, the Commitment Phase, the Confession Phase, and finally, the Conversion Phase. What do you think happened when Jacob was brutally honest with God? Here is what happened when Jacob was brutally honest with God. Genesis 32:²⁸ “And He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but ISRAEL; for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.” (AMP, emphasis added). God did not break his head. God did not judge him. God did not shame him. God changed him and then God blessed him. Genesis 32:^29-30 “…And He declared a blessing [of the covenant promises] on Jacob there. So Jacob named the place Peniel (the face of God), saying, “For I have seen God face to face…” (AMP, emphasis added). God gives me a new identity that unlocks the blessing when I am honest with Him. He gives you a new identity that unlocks the blessing when you are honest with Him. Israel means ‘prince with God’ or ‘the prince of God’. From a deceiver to a prince of God. Huge transition.

Prayer: Father, I am the city of God’s delight, a splendid crown in the hand of my God because I have prevailed with God, in the Mighty Name of Jesus. Amen!