Strive and Prevail

Gen. 32:28, 30

"Then He said, 'Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed...So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, 'For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered."

Jacob wrestled with God and would not let go until he had received a blessing, the blessing of a name change, the beginning of a nation, and the deliverance of his life, but Jacob was marked from that time forth with a limp. I see in Jacob a singular focus and a perseverance that supersedes pain. He wanted God's best above all. Do I persevere for God's best without giving up when things get tough?  Do I maintain my goal until it is accomplished? Do I strive until I prevail?

Secondly, I see that struggling with God leaves a mark. When God makes people His own and sets them  apart for a special service, He leaves His mark, one that is easily identified and not hidden. Jacob's mark was a limp, but what is that mark for me. Could it be a physical issue? Or is it that physical outworking of obedience to His word? "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind... You shall love your neighbor as yourself."   Is my relationship with God visible to others? Am I marked by Him? Do I love others as He did? Do I obey implicitly without wavering?

Father,

Make Your mark upon me clear and bold so that I may share Your love with others.

In Jesus name,

Amen