“And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God.” (Genesis 28:20-21; see also Genesis 32 and 33)
It was night, and Jacob was alone and afraid. He knew that the next day he would meet his brother Esau–the brother he had terribly wronged and fled from long ago. As Jacob waited alone in the dark, perhaps his thoughts went back to the vow he had made at Bethel when he first set out on his journey. His father’s God had spoken to him in a dream. This God had promised Jacob many wonderful things: land, children, blessing, protection. Now Jacob had a family, servants, and livestock. The God of his father Isaac had blessed him. But tomorrow he had an angry brother to face. Would this God protect him now? Until now, Jacob had called God “the God of Abraham” and “the God of my father Isaac.” But he had never called Him “my God.” He had not yet fulfilled the promise he made at Bethel that someday his father’s God would be his own God. Could he trust the God of his father and his grandfather–personally?
That night, Jacob met God personally. He wrestled with Him until morning and begged Him for His blessing. That meeting changed everything for Jacob. He came away from it a different man. When he faced Esau the next day, he was limping because of the great strength of the God he had wrestled with. His speech was filled with love and praise to God for His grace. God had even given him a different name: Israel. One of the first things Israel did when he settled in the land of promise again was to build an altar to this God. He called it El-Elohe-Israel, which means “God, the God of Israel.” God had become more than just the God of his father and his grandfather. He had become Israel’s [Jacob’s] own personal God.
Is God your God–personally? It is not enough for Him to be the God of your parents. He must be your God. Are your parents Christians who have a right relationship with God? If they are, that is a wonderful blessing God has given you. But it is not enough for you to listen to them pray to God and talk about God in your home. You must have your own relationship with their God. You must come to know Him through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, Who paid for your sins on the cross. You must meet God for yourself, just as Jacob did. Such a meeting will change everything for you too–just as it did for Jacob.
God must be your personal God, not just the God of your parents.
My Response:
» Do I have a personal knowledge of God through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ?