Not Man, But God

Proverbs 16:⁷ “When God approves of your life, when the Lord is pleased with the decisions you’ve made, even he activates grace to turn enemies into friends, your enemies will end up shaking your hand.” (MSG/TPT)

We will pick up today’s devotional with our final thought from yesterday. Which is, that you and I will discover that the biggest crisis, the biggest conflict, the biggest wrestling that you and I have in life is with God. You may be struggling and wrestling perhaps in your relationship with your children. But you will discover that it is not really the relationship with your children that is the issue. It is your relationship with God. You may be struggling in your relationship with your spouse. But you will discover that it is not really your relationship with your spouse that is the issue. It is your relationship with God. Jacob discovered that he needed to wrestle with God. I pray that you will wrestle and settle with God in the Mighty Name of Jesus.

Hosea 12:³ “Even before Jacob was born, he STRUGGLED with his brother; when he became a man, he even FOUGHT WITH GOD.” (CEV/LB, emphasis added). Before Jacob was born, he wrestled (struggled) with his brother. While he was a boy, he kept wrestling (struggling) with his brother. But when he became a man, he wrestled with God. If you find out that you are still wrestling with your brother, your spouse, your colleagues, or with the people around you, you are in your infancy.

By the time you enter maturity, you will discover that your wrestling is actually with God. Esau had no option but to favour Jacob once Jacob wrestled with God and prevailed.

Your wrestling and prevailing are with God and not with Esau. If you prevail with God, and I pray that you will because you will go through the four phases, Esau will come to terms with you. Proverbs 16:⁷ “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.” (NKJV). The fact that you are having these conflicts is an indication that your ways need adjusting. So, you need to wrestle with God. I want you to pause and think of the biggest conflict, the biggest problem you are facing in your life even now.

Without even knowing what it is, I can tell you that your wrestle boils down to two things. The first is, will I obey God and do the right thing in this situation? And the second is, will I trust God to take care of this situation? There may be other things, however, the biggest wrestle in your marriage, finances, health, etc., is whether you will obey God, and trust God for the outcome. If you take those two out, you will discover that the rest will fall into place.

Prayer: Father, help me quit my struggling with man, and give me the grace to wrestle with God until my decisions and my life please God, in the Mighty Name of Jesus. Amen!