Listen

He said to Jacob, “What’s your name?” and he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name won’t be Jacob any longer, but Israel, because you struggled with God and with men and won.”

Jacob also asked and said, “Tell me your name.”

But he said, “Why do you ask for my name?” and he blessed Jacob there. Jacob named the place Peniel, “because I’ve seen God face-to-face, and my life has been saved.” The sun rose as Jacob passed Peniel, limping because of his thigh.

Genesis 32:27-31

Think

Jacob has struggled, he has wrestled with God and man and though it was hard, he held on until morning. He was unwilling to let go and give up.

Many of us have been in this place wrestling with our families, our friends, our faith, or maybe even ourselves. And even after we have done the hard work of holding space for difficult conversations, making room for counseling, or searching our souls to find who we truly are and what we truly believe; we leave the struggle with a limp. We, like Jacob, may leave our time of wrestling with wounds. These are our battle scars.

God sees this change in Jacob and instead of pretending everything is the same, God gives Jacob a new name. A new identity, a new purpose. If you have done the hard work of healing or reconciliation, how would you consider yourself changed? Today, if you could choose a new name, what would it be?

Kelli Kirksey

Pray

God,
Today I confess
My want to push things under the rug.

Give me the strength
To do the hard work of difficult conversations, counseling, or soul searching.

Give me the discernment
To see where you are calling me and
Who you are calling me to be.

Amen.

Go

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Saviour

Matt Crocker, Joel Houston, and Salomon Ligthelm in “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)” (2013)