So Jacob called the place Peniel,saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” Genesis 32:30

 Audio Link: http://mylandmarkchurch.com/basics/20110111.mp3

Meeting God as Your God

Genesis chapter 32.

 It’s dark. The man is alone, praying by the river when the ambush comes.

 The stranger comes from nowhere and has the advantage of surprise, but the man holds his own. All night they fight tooth and nail, both weaponless, neither gaining the advantage for a long time.

 But sometime before daybreak, the man has pinned the stranger down and won’t let him go. Now the strange attacker is at the man’s mercy. The stranger will get nothing from the man. The tables have turned. “Give me something,” the man demands. And when the stranger responds, Jacob knows without a doubt he has been wrestling with God himself.

 For Jacob, it takes an ambush to realize that God is not a God who keeps his distance – that God is not merely the God of other people.

 What will it take for you to meet God as your God?

Today’s reading: Genesis 32-34
This week’s reading:  Genesis 24-46