Dear People Who Keep Company With God,
By the banks of the River Jabbok Jacob wrestled with an unidentified man until dawn, and although Jacob was crippled in the fight, he held on to receive a blessing once he understood that the person he was fighting was supernatural (Gen. 32:22-32). The blessing God gave Jacob was a new name, literally, a whole new identity.
The scene at the banks of Jabbok deals with the question of, “Who are you?” Whether you are aware of it or not, you have been trying to answer that question for much of your life. Although you may have a tremendous purpose, calling, talents and anointing, until you settle this, you are going to be limited and frustrated in your heart and in all you put your hands to. There is and will always be a great battle over your identity.
The first recorded words Satan spoke to Jesus concerned His identity, “If You are the Son of God,” (Matt. 4:3). This was a clever attempt to cast doubt in Jesus’ mind concerning the identity He had just received from the Father (Matt. 3:17). The enemy knows if he can steal your identity and give you a false perception of who you are then he can derail your life.
The good news is that like Jacob, God has a vested interest in you knowing who you are and He will go to great lengths to give you the answer. Jabbok means passing over, a place of struggle and being emptied. Jabbok was a tributary of the Jordan. It was in a lonely, out of the way place. Our Jabbok, or our appointment with the Father must be faced alone (Gen. 32:34). No one else can do it for you. This is your private appointment between you and the Father.
I will never forget the day I unknowingly stumbled upon the banks of my Jabbok. There was a great conflict going on in my heart and for the first time I fully faced myself and in doing so I became aware of the spirit that always lurked in the shadows of my life and fed me with constant lies about who I was.
As this revelation was unfolding upon my heart, something happened; I came upon a birthday party in a park. A little boy was celebrating his 4th birthday with his family. What was interesting was it also my birthday that day. I knew it was a divine appointment when I was told this little boy’s name was Byron. What came next was a word from heaven. His middle name was Caleb.
In the Bible, Caleb was a man who had waited 45 years for his inheritance. When the day came for him to receive it he didn’t wait on Joshua to offer it, he pursued it, he went after it, he appealed to Joshua and he got it (Josh. 14:6-15). One of the meanings of the name Caleb is “forcible”. In the Father’s heart there is something that looks for us to pursue our blessing from Him and not let go of Him until He blesses us (Matt 11:12). Those who do so will be blessed with a new name (Rev. 2:17). The blessing of birthright and identity is a gift, but like Caleb we must reach out for it because all of hell is fighting to keep us from it.
The truth is our Joshua, Jesus Christ, hung on a Cross and was abandoned by the Father (Matt. 27:46). He became the ultimate orphan for us as He died so we could forever live as sons and daughters of the Father with the right to enjoy to the fullest extent our birthright and identity. Our greatest struggle is to enter into what He has already secured for us at the Cross.
Many Blessings, BW