The Prophetic Word - Day 182: The time for fighting Him, must come to an end.

“Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” So He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” 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.” Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.” And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.”

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭32‬:‭24‬-‭29‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Jesus was about to be betrayed. He took His disciples to the garden of Gethsemane where He would basically have a struggle with His flesh as it cried out against the certain agony He would soon face.

“And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭22‬:‭41‬-‭44‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

As we see, Jesus’ sweat became mixed with blood. This describes hematohidrosis, a condition only occurring under great stress and agony. In this condition, blood released from the vessels feeding the sweat glands, mixes with the sweat. Indeed, Matthew’s account of the garden experience has Jesus saying, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” (Matthew 26:38)

Jesus’ struggle with the will of the Father was halted with His declaration: “…nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”

If we are to advance in our relationship with the Lord, we must come to the point where the constant struggle against what He wants, the wrestling against what He wants us to do, must come to an end.

In our opening scripture we see that Jacob is again in fear over what Esau might do to him. He then encounters Who turned out to be the Lord.

As we see, Jacob wrestled with “the Man,” not relenting until he received a blessing. Jacob’s refusal to let go, resulted in an injury to his flesh, an injury that would remind him through the rest of his life, that ultimately, God always wins.

Later, when God is pronouncing judgment (through Hosea) against the children of Israel, we see that their falling back on the tendency toward deceit (as in Jacob), is their undoing.

“Now the Lord is bringing charges against Judah. He is about to punish Jacob for all his deceitful ways, and pay him back for all he has done. Even in the womb, Jacob struggled with his brother; when he became a man, he even fought with God. Yes, he wrestled with the angel and won. He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him. There at Bethel he met God face to face, and God spoke to him— the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the Lord is his name! So now, come back to your God. Act with love and justice, and always depend on him. But no, the people are like crafty merchants selling from dishonest scales— they love to cheat. Israel boasts, “I am rich! I’ve made a fortune all by myself! No one has caught me cheating! My record is spotless!””

‭‭Hosea‬ ‭12‬:‭2‬-‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Child of God, early in our walk with the Lord, we may have many questions, and find ourselves struggling against His will. But—in order to mature into who we were meant to be—we must lay that aside. There comes the time when our wrestling should no longer be directed toward the Lord, but rather toward the forces of evil trying to use our flesh to the enemy’s advantage against us.

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬-‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!

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