Fighting Against God Or With God
When God deals with us to win us over, will we say, “Yes, Lord,” or will we fight against Him and want our own way? God always wins, so if we are on His side, we do too. If we resist Him and fight against Him, we will end up losing.
In Exodus, chapters 7 through 11, we see what happened to Pharaoh. He tried to fight against God. God gave Pharaoh opportunity after opportunity, but he hardened his heart and kept resisting and fighting against God. The Lord was trying to win him over, but Pharaoh never said yes to God. As a result, it cost him his life.
This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. 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.” “What is your name?” the man asked. He replied, “Jacob.” “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.” “Please tell me your name,” Jacob said. “Why do you want to know my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there. Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared.” The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because of the injury to his hip. Genesis 32:24-31 (New Living Translation, NLT)
On the other hand, we have Jacob, who didn;t fight against God, but rather he fought with God. God had what Jacob wanted: a blessing. Jacob fought with God and wouldn’t let him go until he got what he wanted from Him. When we’re persistent with God, He will let us win so we can become who He wants us to be and have what He wants us to have. Before God could give Jacob what he fought for, He had to change Jacob from a trickster to Israel, which means prince. He transformed him from a man of the flesh to a man of the spirit. Then he could become one who would rule with God.
When God deals with us, we must not fight against Him. Instead, we must fight with God and do things God’s way. When God wins with you, you win with God.
