Hold ’em to His Word!

While reading through the book of Genesis this month, I’ve taken note of a constant back and forth between God and the patriarchs of Israel – Abraham, Isaac and now Jacob. It has a pattern to it:

• God promises.
• Man reminds God of His promise.
• God fulfills His promise.

It usually doesn’t work out quite that neatly, but that’s it in a nutshell. Typically, it works out something more like this:

• God promises.
• God reminds man of His promise again (and again).
• Meanwhile, man reminds God of His promise multiple times.
• In between there are mistakes, sin, frustration and heartbreak. 
• Finally (usually after years of waiting), God fulfills the promise.

Here is how Jacob, son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, put it in his conversation with God:

But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’”  – Genesis 32:12

What have you been promised?

Here’s the cool part. This is not just something for guys from the Bible who lived thousands of years ago. God expects us to remind Him of His promises.

God wants us to hold His feet to the fire. He wants us to He doesn’t need it. He is faithful; it’s His nature, but God wants our involvement.

What is God speaking to you about your family? What is He showing you about your job? Where is God moving you toward? Where is He moving you away from?

These are His promises to you. He wants you to to share with Him the process of making it happen.

Hold on!

Jacob’s encounter with God in Genesis 32 is amazing. He physically confronts the living God, and wrestles Him the entire night long.

Finally, in blink of an eye, God (in God-like fashion) renders Jacob defenseless and throws his hip out of socket. Yet, Jacob doesn’t let go. He forces God to give him a blessing.

Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”  – Genesis 32:26

Jacob held God’s feet to the fire.

This is the harder part of the entire equation – holding on. Our hands, arms, legs and teeth get tired from hanging on (I can imagine Jacob using every part of his body to hold onto God). It’s much easier to let go and proclaim, “I missed God…I must not have really heard His Word.”

Sure that’s a possibility, but it’s not a probability.

As you wrestle through the promises of God for your life, don’t let go. Hold on for His blessing.

It’s what God wants.