Don't Wrestle, Just Nestle

Sometimes discerning what God wants us to do requires much prayer, study of His Word and patience.  Other times His will is totally obvious.  Personally, I tend to get quite frustrated when I am having difficulty discerning His direction for me.  Then I have to pray for patience!  And, sometimes we think we know God's will and we start off down the path we think he wants us to take only to discover that wasn't His path at all.

I once asked one of my favorite pastors how you can know what God's will is.  He told me we need to validate that it is consistent with His word and perhaps discuss it with a couple of Christian friends to make sure we are not fooling ourselves.  Sometimes, even when we do those things and start down the path, we find out it wasn't God's will at all.  I asked what we should do then.  The answer was to back up to the point where we knew we were in God's will and start the process over.  That may involve cleaning up some things along the way as we backtrack but we need and want to be in God's will.  Wouldn't it be nice if God would just send us an email?  :-)  I think he really just wants us to be in His Word and in Prayer; email would not accomplish that.      

Has God ever made it very clear to you what direction He wishes you to take but it differs from the direction you want to take?  I'm guessing most of us have been in that situation.  I particularly liked Greg Laurie's Daily Devotion today.  I liked it so much that I'm posting the entire thing here.  If you have an interest in subscribing or just learning more about his organization, you can find out more here. 

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2011 From Resisting to Resting And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed." — Genesis 32:28 Jacob, the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham, was a conniver. He just couldn't wait on God's timing. On the day that Jacob and his twin brother Esau were born, Esau came first, with Jacob holding on to his brother's foot. That is how Jacob earned his name, which means "heel-catcher." When they were older, Jacob not only convinced Esau to sell him his birthright for some stew, but he also tricked their father into giving him the blessing that was intended for Esau. Esau wanted to kill him, so Jacob went into exile and ended up working for a guy he really deserved: Laban, who was as much of a conniver as Jacob was. Eventually Jacob made the journey back home again, and on the way, the Bible tells us in Genesis 32 that "Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day" (verse 24). It was as though God said, "You are always struggling and fighting with me, so let's go for it." Now Jacob was one tough guy, and he wouldn't give up. Consequently, God touched the socket of his hip so that it was out of joint. That made Jacob cling to this messenger from heaven, and he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!" (verse 26). Jacob went from resisting to resting. Instead of fighting with God, he was surrendering to God, so God gave him a new name. Are you wrestling with God? We wrestle with Him when He reveals His will to us and we say we want our will instead. How much better it is when we surrender to Him. Corrie ten Boom said, "Don't wrestle, just nestle." Don't fight with the One who has your best interests in mind. Have Pastor Greg's devotions blessed you? Write and tell him!Greg@harvest.org Mary's Notes:   For those who are not familiar with this particular part of God's word, I thought it would be instructive to note that the man Jacob wrestled with was God Himself (most likely the Son).  Jacob would not have asked Him to bless him otherwise.  The name God gave to Jacob is Israel and from Jacob/Israel, God created the nation of Israel.  So, you see, the nation of Israel was not established in 1948 as most non-Christians believe; it actually began almost 4,000 years ago in the same location as today but the original Israel had a lot more land. I especially like Corrie ten Boom's quote "Don't wrestle, just nestle" which, of course, is why I chose it as the title for this post.  While we worship the one true God who created all that has been created, who is all powerful, all knowing and all loving (among other things), when I die I picture myself running and jumping up into my Heavenly Father's lap and nestling. Blessings, Mary