And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. Genesis 32:24 Being left alone can cause a variety of reactions, but can be meaningful to us. To some it might bring fear, insecurity, and stressful circumstances. To believers it should be a time of searching our hearts before the Lord. A time when we focus on God and our relationship to Him, when we examine the sincerity of our walk and life-style, when we seek to know His will and way for our lives, a time to evaluate our pursuit of His will with purposed determination. In our day of living in fast forward, we find very little time to be quiet...to come apart from all the rush of life, and simply find that quiet time where God can speak to our hearts, give insight to our needs, and direction to our life. How necessary it is if we are to grow in grace and in knowledge of Him to be alone! This is when God has the opportunity to minister to us, teach us, lead us, and reveal the secrets of His abiding presence to us! Things that are so important to a triumphant spiritual walk. We often think that if we are not involved in some spiritual project, consumed with doing something for God, that we are wasting precious time. Let us be keenly aware that time spent in the secret of His presence is the most meaningful and fruitful time we will ever spend! David wrote, Be still, and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10). How can we know God unless we spend time in His presence, to learn His care, concern, and compassion for our every need? It is there in the quiet that we bare our hearts before Him! God took Jacob to a place called Peniel. In the stillness of the night, He was alone with God. Someone has said, To be left alone WITHOUT God would be too painful for words, but to be alone WITH God is a taste of Heaven. This was a life changing experience for Jacob, where he met God on HIS terms...for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. His life was changed forever! Gods touch on his life changed the Jacob, (supplanter) to an Israel (prince with God.) How remarkable! God said, Thy name shall be called no longer Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed (Genesis 32:28). Left alone with God....an experience we all need in our lives! The miracles of Elijah and Elisha often took place when they were alone with God. Moses was on the back side of the desert when he was alone with God, and God instructed him to lead Israel out of bondage in Egypt (Exodus 3:1-5). God spoke to Joshua, after the death of Moses, when he was alone with God, to lead Israel into Caanan (Joshua 1:1). Cornelius was alone praying when the angel came to him to send for Peter to come share the gospel in his house (Acts 10:2). Peter was alone on his housetop when God instructed him to share the Gospel with the Gentiles (Acts 10:9). So it was with John the Baptist (Luke 1:80) and John the Beloved, alone on the island of Patmos (Revelation 1:9). Let God fill your life with the blessing of His presence! To neglect this opportunity is to miss out on all that God wants to do in and through your life. And Jacob was left alone.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Nov 2013 15:13:35 +0000