A_Personal_Encounter

A PERSONAL ENCOUNTER

It is hard to imagine that God would stoop from His high and lofty perch to come into the presence of one of His creatures in a one-on-one encounter but He will and does. It would be easy to recognize the upcoming event in retrospect, but we do not get forewarning that 10 days from today at 10:03 a.m. we are to meet with the creator of the universe. We do, however, have a standing invitation to meet God at any place and time of our choosing. He never says I am too busy or I will try to squeeze you in two weeks from tomorrow. He is always ready to meet with us at our place and time. Sometimes He will show up unexpectedly, unannounced and even unrecognized. It would be nice if we could always recognize Him when He pays us a visit. Like us, Jacob did not recognize who he had met or who he was wrestling with. It was only after he realized that he had been touched and changed in a special way that he wanted to know with whom he was struggling.

Why did God choose this time and this place to meet with Jacob? Why did they wrestle? Unfortunately too often when God comes to fellowship with us we not only do not know Him but struggle and resist Him.

It seems it is only when we have a problem that we want to have an encounter with God. But here it is in the course of a normal event that God approached Jacob and Jacob was never the same. When Jacob realized who He struggled with he refused to let go until God blessed him. God visited Jacob again and again and each time Jacob built an alter to God to mark the place and time.

Gen 32:24-32
24 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.
25 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.
26 And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!"
27 So He said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob."
28 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."
29 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.
30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: "For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved."
31 Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip.
32 Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on the hip socket, because He touched the socket of Jacob's hip in the muscle that shrank.
(NKJ)

It seems to me that we have the opportunity to be one of those unique people who has been present with the Lord and to know without a doubt that God will respond to the wants and needs of His creatures. I dare say there are those times in life when we must be like Jacob who wrestled with God all night and refused to let Him go until he was blessed. His name, his body and his spirit were changed through the encounter. He spent the rest of his life with a limp and never forgot the encounter returning years later to the place where he met and wrestled with God.

I have never forgotten the hill where I had my first great encounter. There have been numerous other encounters but that first one seems to have had the greatest impact on my life. It is always so that those who are willing to stand in God's presence until He attends to their request are given the things they seek. Sometimes they come away changed in such a way as never to forget the encounter.

Paul asked for his infirmity to be removed but God said, My grace is sufficient. Sometimes God gives us a physical mark to keep us in tune spiritually. Sometimes we walk in the valley of the shadow of death to learn to walk in the valley. Too often we tend to think our ability to walk is dependent on us; but not so, it is dependent on Him. Our entire life is about having a personal relationship with Him. Only as we learn who He is can we learn who we are and what He intends us to be and do. The better we know Him the less we fear the day we shall see Him face to face. He never wants us to live in fear but rather He wants us to be confident that our struggle is necessary to give us the attitude we need to be who we need to be.

It all starts with our coming to know who He is and what He has done for us. It is so amazing to me that God wanted to have fellowship with me. That he created me and then came to this world as a man to fulfill all that is required for me to be able to be in His presence and be loved by Him.

When we come to that place in life where we realize we are not in control, then we are ready to know Him who is in control. Money, power, position, politics or party affiliation cannot open the doors to an audience with Him. The door is continually open to all who will come in faith seeking Him.

God is perfect and cannot be in the presence of anything or anyone who is not. Therefore, if I am to be able to stand in His presence, I must be perfect. I could not become perfect so God came to earth in the form of his son, lived a perfect life for me and then went to the cross of Calvary to pay the debt I owe for all my imperfections. I can accept His payment on my behalf or I can reject it; but, I cannot stand in His presence on friendly terms unless I accept it. We call it being born again. Others refer to it as spiritual awakening. Regardless of what it is called, when it happens we are alive spiritually in the image of His son and therefore acceptable to be in His presence. We are then able to understand spiritual things and are able to have fellowship with Him. Before our spiritual eyes are opened we only see spiritual things as an exercise in religious rituals. It seems somehow that we have difficulty depending on Him when there are other things we feel we can rely on for our hope and security. It just seems it is much easier to accept our total dependence on Him when we come to that place when all else has failed. Have you had a life changing encounter with God? Are you wrestling to keep Him from changing you or are you wrestling with Him to seek His blessing? Jacob held on until he was blessed.

Gen 35:9-15
9 Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him.
10 And God said to him, "Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name." So He called his name Israel.
11 Also God said to him: "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body.
12 "The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land."
13 Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him.
14 So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it.
15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.
(NKJ)


God became real and personal to Jacob and his mind was changed. He met with, talked with and worshiped God at this at place he called Bethel which means "house of God." and was blessed time after time. Where is your Bethel? When was the last time you met with God there? Go there and hold on to Him until He changes you. God wants to have a continual relationship with you just as He did with Jacob.

Please sign our guest book. You will be added to our mail list.