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Self-Reliance Puts You At Odds With God · The Bible Bit Podcast

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  Welcome back. This is Kimmy Miller of Woman at the Well Ministries,
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  bringing you another Bible bit for you to enjoy.
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  Self-reliance puts you at odds with God.
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  Today, as we journey through the scriptures, continuing our study on Genesis
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  32, 22 through 32, we are focusing on the danger of self-reliance.
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  Genesis 32, 25 says, And when he saw that he prevailed not against him,
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  he touched the hollow of his thigh.
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  The hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him.
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  All too often, we rely upon ourselves for strength, wisdom, and knowledge.
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  This isn't an effective or good plan.
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  There is a way which seemeth right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways
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  of death, Proverbs 14, 12.
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  Jacob wrestled all throughout the night. But when the Lord touched the hollow
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  of his thigh, Jacob's strength was changed in an instant.
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  The man who had spent his whole life relying on his own ability was suddenly
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  not even able to stand as he once had done so.
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  Jacob went from self-reliance to dependence on God.
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  Jacob could no longer rely on his ability to struggle or control events in his life.
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  Jacob went from striving to surrender. Jacob had to cling to God for a blessing,
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  instead of obtaining it through deception or manipulation, as he had done so in the past.
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  Jacob went from weakness to spiritual strength.
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  Though Jacob was physically weakened, Jacob was spiritually transformed and
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  received God's blessing and was given a new name, Israel.
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  God didn't need to destroy Jacob. God needed to bring Jacob to the end of his
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  self-sufficiency and to the point that Jacob knew he needed God.
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  Jacob entered this encounter with a host of problems.
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  His greatest problem wasn't that Esau was waiting on the other side of the brook of Jabbok.
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  Jacob also needed to confront the man he had been.
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  Jacob had spent years trusting in his own schemes.
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  Now he was learning that God's blessings could not be obtained through manipulation,
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  human strength, or evil ways.
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  Jacob had been transformed. and now he had to face the truth.
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  We often want God to change everyone else around us while leaving us exactly the same.
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  But sometimes, the Lord begins His work in our situation by changing our own hearts.
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  He deals with our pride.
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  He deals with our bitterness, our need to control everything.
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  And our unwillingness to forgive.
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  He deals with the places where we trust ourselves more than we trust Him.
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  He deals with us before He deals with our circumstances. Have you ever wondered
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  why a struggle left you feeling weaker instead of stronger?
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  God's purpose isn't always to make us feel strong in ourselves.
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  Sometimes His purpose is to teach us that His strength is enough.
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  We read about this truth as Paul reveals it about his own life in 2 Corinthians 12.9.
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  Here we read that God's grace is sufficient for Paul and that Paul is grateful for his infirmities.
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  2 Corinthians 12.9 says, My grace is sufficient for thee. My strength is made perfect in weakness.
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  Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities that the power
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  of Christ may rest upon me.
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  We must be careful not to assume that every hardship is a punishment from god,
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  but you can ask god to use every hardship to teach you shape you and draw you closer to him,
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  draw nigh to god and he will draw nigh to you cleanse your hands ye sinners,
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  and purify your hearts ye double-minded james 4 8.
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  Is there an area of your life where you are still trying to do everything in
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  your own strength instead of surrendering it to God?
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  Jacob walked away from this encounter with a limp.
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  He would never be the same again. Sometimes the greatest evidence of an encounter
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  with God is not that our circumstances changed, but that we are changed.
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  We leave with a changed heart.
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  Jacob still had to face Esau But now he was doing it as a new man In God's strength,
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  What he did for Jacob He will do for you Acts 10.34,
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  Remember you are loved Jesus loves you Join us tomorrow as we continue to learn
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  lessons From Jacob's encounter with God As recorded in Genesis 32, 22-32,
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  Please visit Woman at the Well Ministries at WATWM.org for more resources,
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  podcasts, and to connect with us.
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