Goodbye Old Year…Hello New Year!
A new year is right around the corner! I love celebrating the new year because it is an opportunity to turn the page of my life and begin anew.
In the Bible, Jacob wanted to turn the page of his life and begin again because his story was broken on so many levels—personally, parentally, and relationally. Thank God for a miraculous change of names!
Jacob’s name means “supplanter.” Essentially, he was a con man who preyed on other people’s weaknesses. Jacob took advantage of his own brother and father in stealing both the right to lead his family and the double portion of the inheritance. Listen to his brother’s heartbreaking words:
“...Then Esau said, ‘Is he not rightly named Jacob, for he has betrayed me these two times? He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing.’...” (Genesis 27:35-36, NASB)
Jacob flees for his life because of his broken identity and decisions. He runs from an old name, but God has a new name waiting for him. One night, Jacob wrestles with God. Have you ever done that, friend? Have you ever struggled with God because you won’t release something that He wants to lift off your heart?
The Bible describes this struggle between God, in the form of a man, and Jacob:
“So Jacob was left alone, and a Man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the Man saw that He could not overpower him, He touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the Man. Then the Man said, ‘Let Me go, for it is daybreak.’ But Jacob replied, ‘I will not let You go unless You bless me.’ The Man asked him, ‘What is your name?’ ‘Jacob,’ he answered. Then the Man said, ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.’” (Genesis 32:24-28, NIV)
Jacob did not overcome God, but in struggling with Him, Jacob overcomes his past and becomes the head of God’s chosen people!
No matter how broken your past may be, struggling with deep spiritual matters and the old negative names attached to your memories can create an amazing space for God to show Himself mighty on your behalf, friend. Listen to these powerful scriptures:
“‘To the one who is victorious and does My will to the end, I will give authority over the nations’” (Revelation 2:26, NIV)
“Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.” (1 John 5:5, NIV)
Today, God has named you “Overcomer,” and through Him, you can overcome every obstacle in 2022 because you are His miracle!
