Do any of these statements ring a bell with you?
‘I’ve tried everything?’
Many of us don’t lack effort. When it comes to parenting, your work, your faith, you can safely say you don’t hold back. You know you are not perfect, but you wonder if you are doing the right things or if God will allow you to see the results you deeply long for. It is OKAY to be a little desperate to know God’s will and your next step.
‘I’m on top of my game’
This is for those whose previous success makes them wonder if they will continue to be successful in the future. Are the glory days behind you? You wonder if what got you to where you are is what will take you to where you need to be. It is OKAY to be desperate to desire to be relevant and flexible for a future you don’t know yet.
‘I think there is more’
No, you are not downplaying where you are now. You just wonder if in the perception of what is commonly considered ‘success’ (work achievements, family harmony, educational progress, and maybe even decent possessions) if you can also be on a God-defined mission.
Luckily, God cares deeply about these reflections
The genealogy of Jesus is full of people who needed to wrestle with these and more in order to find clarity in their life passion and mission. Our lens this week focuses on the very dramatic story of Jacob, a man who made each of the above claims at some point in his life. Which turned into a moment of beautiful desperation and struggle to become a critical step in discovering God’s will.
Leading up to Genesis 32, the words that could define Jacob were a con, a deceiver, discontent, hustler and even fugitive. Something had to change. But this change did not come without struggle, without desperation… an abandonment of his way of doing things and an invitation to live differently.
Hear Jacob’s agony and desperation as he makes this prayer to God
… “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
- Gen 32:26b.
It was probably strange for the richest man in town, the one with the largest family, the one who had the greatest possessions, and the one who always seemed to have his way, to ask God to bless him. Jacob’s newfound idea of blessing was defined as “make my life count for your mission.”
And blessed he was! Genesis 32:28
“Then the man said, ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.’”
While those around Jacob would expect him to continue in his ways as a man of strife, struggler, deceiver, con, and even fugitive. Everything on the outside looked perfect. God changed his identity in the midst of his struggle so that what was in his future immediately was incomparable to the darkness that was in his past.
Turnaround.
His mission becomes clear that he was to be the father of a nation. Each of his sons would each part of called by his new name, Israel. This nation would become the channel through which God would bring about his salvation to the whole of humanity.
Heads up, this was not going to be the last time they would be in a season of darkness and struggle. This nation would be the carriers of this blessing even when they were all exiled in Babylon. Here is how the blessing of God persisted in Jacob’s family, now a nation, even when he was no longer alive.
Isaiah 43: 1-3a
“But now, this is what the Lord says—
he who created you, Jacob,
he who formed you, Israel:
‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior”
If you are in a season of desperate prayer for God to reveal himself and his will in your life, we want you to remember a few things:
- It is OKAY to be desperate for the right things: Being desperate for the right things can be an invitation to depend on God in new ways and thus grow your faith. This is for you and anyone whom you meet that is in a season of prayerful struggle.
- You are not alone: We don’t just mean that there are others who may be in a similar season. It gets better. God is not just a by-stander in your prayers and struggle. He joins you in them. This is how Romans describes his Holy Spirit:
Romans 8:26
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”
Even when you are not really clear how to pray, Romans 8:26 is an invitation to be non-perfect in our prayers… because God’s Spirit interprets them to the Father having known and felt our deepest longings.
- It is not in God’s nature to waste the pain: 20th Century theologian, A.W. Tozer is quoted as saying this unsettling statement:
“It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.”
I tend to live for the happy moments, the wins, the breakthroughs, and the celebrations. But something significant happens when I allow God’s Holy Spirit to transform me even in the seasons of a struggle.
A few questions for you to ponder:
- What are you most craving in your life right now (Think family, personal health, work, family, and relationships)?
- What areas do you feel are okay, but could be great?
Find someone in your life whom you trust and share that with them and ask them to join you in praying to see that come to pass.
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