How to Prevail in Life
What does it Mean and How is it Achieved?
Like many creative people, I have ups and downs. I have seasons when all seems to be going well and moments when I look at my life and the failures loom up larger than proper perspective should permit. It is in the middle of those moments that the Lord reassures me that the only thing He desires is my trusting obedience, not any version of success that I have elevated as my goal.
I was recently pondering the incredibly mystical experience of Jacob as he wrestled with God. Can you imagine? All the pent up dread in Jacob’s heart over his impending reunion with Esau, all his frustration from decades of living under someone nearly as conniving as himself (his father-in-law, Laban), all his fear of losing everything he’s worked for and his wives and children, all his shame for all his cheating and game playing – all of this culminates the night before the reunion with Esau. That’s when a Man shows up, a Man who eventually reveals Himself to be more than ordinary. And they wrestle.
As Jacob has grappled with his mischievous self, he now grapples with God. They wrestle all night and still no definitive winner can be called. As morning light begins to drown the stars in its hues of rosy gold, the Man demands to be released. Jacob makes his own demands. He’s still craving a blessing. And so the Man blesses him, pronouncing that his “name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
Prevailed? How has Jacob prevailed? Isn’t he the one who walks away with a permanent limp? Wasn’t the wrestling match called on account of daylight?
Jacob wrestled with God and God declared that Jacob prevailed. But wait! How did Jacob prevail? Isn’t he the one who walked away with a permanent limp? Wasn’t the wrestling match called on account of daylight? What made Jacob one who prevailed? #ChristianWalk #ChristianBlog #Blog #Strength
Nevertheless, the declaration as one who prevailed hangs over Jacob’s life as a banner as clearly visible as his limp.
What did it take for Jacob to receive this divine commendation?
Just one thing. Only one thing made him, not just a wrestler, not just a hands down winner or loser, not a cheat. It took only one thing to make Jacob one who prevails: Endurance.
All he did was to simply stick with it, to refuse to let go. He endured.
If you look up a definition for “prevail,” as I just did, you will see that it means more than just being victorious, it means to “prove more powerful than opposing forces.” It can mean simply standing your ground against whatever is coming at you and refusing to let it defeat you – no matter how battered and broken you may end up in the process. No matter how much of a limp you walk away with, what matters is that you hung on and refused to let go.
Like Jacob you are called to be blessed. But sometimes that blessing requires you to hang on way beyond what you ever thought you could, beyond what even seems reasonable, far beyond what is comfortable. It requires persisting until you have a new name, a new identity, that calls forth the true nature that God has seen within you since He wove your flesh around your purpose.
Don’t give up, my Friend, though the way is treacherous and tortuous. Endure though it feels that everything is against you and you’re not sure how to find strength for another day. Endure. And in your enduring you will prevail.
“For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” Hebrews 10:36
For more on following God’s call, read my blog, “Should I Go Home” by clicking HERE!