Latest / The Bible Bit Podcast / God Blesses Those Who Cling to Him
Transcript
- 0:00Welcome back. This is Kimmy Miller of Woman at the Well Ministries bringing
- 0:04you another Bible bit for you to enjoy.
- 0:07God blesses those who cling to Him.
- 0:11Today as we journey through the scriptures, gleaning God's truths for our lives,
- 0:16we are continuing our study on Genesis 32, 22-32.
- 0:21Today we are focusing on the truth that God blesses those who cling to Him.
- 0:26Genesis 32, 26 says, and he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh.
- 0:32And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
- 0:37This response from Jacob illustrates
- 0:39the true change that this encounter with God had made in Jacob.
- 0:43Earlier in his life, Jacob was known for striving to get what he wanted through
- 0:47his own abilities and efforts.
- 0:50But now he was clinging to the Lord to receive what he wanted and what he needed.
- 0:54Jacob had reached a place in his life where he knew he needed God.
- 0:59He now fully understood that he needed something that only God could give him.
- 1:05Jacob wasn't asking for another scheme or another opportunity to use his wisdom
- 1:10and knowledge to outsmart someone else.
- 1:13No, Jacob was asking God to bless him. Jacob had been changed.
- 1:19My friend, an encounter with God always changes you.
- 1:23Jacob had entered this encounter with God fully self-reliant and had come out
- 1:29of this encounter with God fully surrendered and dependent upon God.
- 1:34In this account in Genesis 32, 22-32, Jacob shows us the difference between
- 1:40struggling to get our own way and holding on to God in faith.
- 1:46The time Jacob spent with God in prayer wasn't a demonstration of Jacob praying
- 1:51to get his way or of Jacob trying to force God to do what he wanted.
- 1:56No, it was Jacob coming humbly, persistently, and in full faith,
- 2:03trusting God's will and depending upon God's grace.
- 2:08We read about this same persistence in Luke 18.1 when Jesus taught us that men
- 2:13ought always to pray and not to faint.
- 2:17Prayer is the key to unleashing all the forces of heaven upon your issues.
- 2:23Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another that ye may be healed.
- 2:29The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
- 2:35James 5.16 Friends, we must always be in an attitude of prayer and continually
- 2:42be seeking God's guidance and help.
- 2:451 Thessalonians 5.17 Jacob's night of wrestling with God teaches us that when
- 2:51life becomes difficult, we must not turn away from the Lord.
- 2:56We must draw closer to Him. James
- 2:584.8 We must hold on to God even when the answers are not readily coming.
- 3:04We must hold on to God even when we don't understand what is happening around us.
- 3:09We must hold on to God when the road is difficult and our heart is broken.
- 3:14Friends, our hope isn't in the strength of our grip on God, but our hope is
- 3:19in the faithfulness of our God who holds us.
- 3:22Friends, do not give up on prayer. Do not stop seeking the Lord.
- 3:28Continue trusting Him, even when His answer isn't what you want or isn't coming
- 3:33as fast as you would like.
- 3:36Remember Jeremiah 33, 3, which says, Call unto me, and I will answer thee,
- 3:41and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.
- 3:45You may not always understand God's timing, but you can always trust his character.
- 3:51Remember you are loved. Jesus loves you.
- 3:55Join us tomorrow as we continue to learn lessons from Jacob's encounter with
- 3:59the angel of the Lord in Genesis 32, 22 through 32.
- 4:05Please visit Woman at the Well Ministries at WATWM.org for more resources,
- 4:10podcasts, and to connect with us.
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