It is a New Day!

Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Genesis 32:24

It has been six weeks now that I have had a problem with my right hip. As soon as this hip problem began I knew that it was a prophetic sign and God was speaking to me. Immediately Karen said, “Stop wrestling with God!” I said, “I will not until He blesses me!” What she meant was don’t fight the new thing that God is trying to do in your life! Ouch!

Then confirmation after confirmation began to come to me about this portion of scripture and I realized it was about more than just wrestling with God. It is about a new day breaking and stepping into the destiny and purposes of God.

The challenge is to let go of what you have been resisting without letting go of the only one who can bless you and release your promise. It is often easier to give up on what has been promised than to let go of your version of the promise to receive God’s reality. Don’t make new doctrine to try to explain away God’s delay. It is time to become much more perceptive about what God is doing, rather than give up on what you have believed. God has no obligation to meet your approval. His kingdom principles are of another world and don’t meet earthly thinking. You said you wanted His Kingdom and now it is time to live out what you and I have proclaimed!

Jacob was all alone when this event takes place! There are a thousand things running through his mind at this one moment of time. God never plans His appearances according to what is convenient for us.
Will Esau kill me?
Will my family be destroyed?
Will I lose all that I have worked so hard for?
Where are my promises God?
Is God even concerned with me and my problems?

All of these questions and many more are on his mind when a Man shows up. Scripture describes Him as a man, but Jacob recognizes that this is no ordinary man. Even in the midst of the stresses of life, fear and loneliness, he knows there is more. Something begins to rise inside of him that this is the moment he has been waiting for! He could have missed it, but he wouldn’t let his present problems rob him of his promised potential! This is the deciding moment in Jacob’s life. Every great man or woman who is convinced that God has something greater for them in life must face a moment in time that they will determine their destiny!

Abraham had to decide to leave everything or stay where it was comfortable.
Isaac had to decide to obey and stay in a land of famine or leave like everyone else. Moses had to decide to believe again in the dream God had given to him or stay in the comfort of Midian. David had to strengthen himself in the Lord and believe for his family or return to the cave of Adullam with nothing. Nehemiah had to believe that the walls of Jerusalem were to be rebuilt or just give up and return to the comforts of the Babylonian palace.

Over and over the place of loneliness is the place of reckoning! What will you do? Will you even perceive that God is there? In previous years Jacob had an encounter with God and didn’t even know God was there. Not this time! Will you give up on what God has spoken or will you be stirred up? Jacob says, “No I am not giving up on everything that God has spoken to me and my family! This is it! This is my moment in time. I don’t know who this man is, but I know He is able to bless me!” Bless means to bow down and pronounce favor over a person’s life. Not just any blessing, but God’s blessing.

Jacob already had the prophetic words from his mother about his future. He already had received his brother’s birthright and he had even received the blessing of the firstborn from his father. But none of these were enough! He had to have God’s pronouncement of blessing over his life. He was waiting on the Word that had been spoken from the foundation of the world that had brought him into existence. He was a word waiting for a Word!

What is your name? God knew his name, but He wanted to make a distinction here of what was about to take place. Jacob would not let go of God until he received the blessing. The night was about to end and the past could not be carried into the new day. If you will read all of the uses of “the dawn” or “breaking of day” in scripture you will learn that certain things are done at night, but when day light comes they cease! All you have to do is hold on until the new day comes!

Jacob didn’t know what was going to happen, but he knew there was something about this man and it was his time to step into his destiny. God says, “What is your name?” My parents call me Jacob. The world knows me as Jacob. My wife knows me as Jacob. “You will no longer be called Jacob.” God doesn’t care what others call you, think of you, or have labeled you. He is changing your identity. It is the dawning of a new day. The old stuff of the night is ending and a new day is breaking. You shall be called Israel! Some translations say it means “Prince with God.” In the Hebrew it means, “He will rule as God!”

Know it or not it is the same thing that happens in your life when you receive your new identity in Christ! Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.em> (emphasis mine) 1 John 4:17
It is the trials of life that cause us to miss the God encounters of blessing in our lives. Don’t let your flesh cause you to miss your opportunity to be blessed. The very essence of your being is crying out for God to bless you and release you into your God-given destiny! That destiny is to rule as God, on the earth. To have dominion, multiply, and subdue the earth! These are not my words, but the Word of God!

Every one of us was created by a Word before time. We then were born into the world and subject to the names and labels of people, but deep down inside we know that there is more. So we wait for that defining moment when that Word will be spoken to release us into our true identity. “He will rule as God!” It was given to Adam before the fall and it has been reclaimed by Jesus Christ through the Cross. It is yours! All you have to do is perceive that this is the moment in time with God and hold onto your promise. Night is almost over and the day is at hand!

According to the Jewish Calendar September 13th ends the past year and we will enter into the year 5768 or “The Year of Samekh Chet.” The year of the full circle of life… A new beginning is yours!” It truly is a new day! Get ready to become all that God has promised! Your destiny is waiting for you! It may not look like you thought it would so let go of the old and embrace God’s new identity for your life! So what if you limp a little!

Comments

[dick and pat]

pastor paul that is just a super word for the body of Christ. it is the now day and a new day. paul i have been speaking on our will and God's will for us, that just goes with your teaching. also enjoyed the whole newsletter. I see a newer thing in your walk ...God bless you. we miss you and look forward to seeing you in November. blessing and love dick and pat