Hosea 12:3
He took his brother by the heel in the womb, and by his strength he had power with God:
One of the characters in the Scriptures for whom I have little respect is Jacob. Jacob was a deceitful man who stole the birthright from his brother, lied to his dad, was deceitful with his father-in-law, and gained his family’s blessing deceitfully when it rightfully belonged to Esau.
However, it is interesting that God says Jacob had power with God. Though Jacob’s past was filled with deceit, he finally realized that he did not have the power to conquer in life; power only comes from God. The fact that Jacob could have power with God ought to encourage every believer that they can gain power with God. Let me point out several things this verse is teaching.
First, you must acknowledge you have no power without God. You can try to manipulate your way through life, but you will burn many relationships and find yourself a lonely person. Jacob was alone at night because of his manipulation. The weight he carried of his past seemed to be overwhelming. Yet, he found out that he did not have the power to change things without God, and that was why he was so adamant about getting God’s blessings on his life. When you come to the end of your rope of trying to manipulate life, you will discover that you have no power to make things happen in life without God.
Second, you must know that you serve a God with power. God is powerful enough to handle any life situation. I would hate to think I am wasting God’s power because I am trying to manipulate life with my own power. God does not have to manipulate life because He is the omnipotent God who has the power to right the wrongs and make His work go forward despite any obstacle. You will never have power with God until you realize you don't have the power it takes to make things happen in life, but God does.
Third, you must accept that your strength comes by having power with God. Without God’s power you are weak, but with it you have power to face any situation of life. You can have the strength to endure any situation of life if you will realize your strength only comes from God’s power.
Fourth, power with God comes by being with God. You cannot get God’s power if you are not with Him. You get God’s power by being in the yoke with God. The best way to resolve your issues of life is to get in the yoke with God and let Him use His power to care for your issues while you serve Him. I have found that if I stay busy serving with God, He will care for my daily needs and problems. Your answer is not to stop serving God until your problems are resolved, but to get with God in His yoke and serve Him to see Him resolve your life issues.
Fifth, God will accept anyone and will give anyone power who comes to Him to work with Him. God is a forgiving God, and He will accept you if you will come to Him and ask for His power. You may not think that you deserve to have power with God, but nobody deserves to have power with God.
My friend, are you wrestling with God trying to work things out yourself? Accept God’s power by weeping in prayer and begging for His power, and get busy serving Him, and with His power you will find you can conquer anything in life.
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