At night time, all you see is the problem. But at daybreak, you see the purpose. Dr. Tony Evans says the point of our problems often isn't revealed until the battle is over. When you wrestle through the pain of your passionate pursuit of God, you then get your breakthrough and not until.
This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. When life feels like a daily struggle, it's easy to wonder when God will step in. Today, we'll see why God's timing isn't always ours and how we can trust Him in the meantime. Let's join Dr.
Evans as he begins. One of the great stories of the Old Testament. Is in the life of one of the great characters in the Old Testament. And his name is Jacob. Jacob means Trickster.
He was named accurately. Ever since he came out of his mother's womb. He was a conniver. From the early days of his birth, He knew how to run a game on folk. The biggest game that he ran as a young man was against his own brother.
His own blood. When he duped him out of his birthright. It's blessing. That should have gone to Esau. But he duped.
His brother, then he duped. his father to make his father think In his blindness, that he was his brother. And He was A trickster. In fact. On one occasion Esau, his brother, said, That it names you correctly.
For you have tricked me twice. twice. But you know, there is a way. over time that the chickens come home to roost. When something becomes your character.
What you're named for?
Sooner or later, it's going to catch up with you. And you're going to have to come face to face. With the error of your ways. Such is the case. In Genesis chapter Thirty-two.
Animosity, hatred had built up. between Esau and his brother Jacobs. Jacob knows that if he doesn't do something fast. Esau is so hot at him for all the abuse, misuse, deception over the years, his very life could be in danger. To put it another way, in chapter 32 of Genesis.
Esau faces a major crisis. And he sends word. That he would like to get together with his brother. In other words, he wants to create a scenario. to make peace.
with Esau. He sends some messengers over to Esau to kind of test it out. He doesn't want to go himself, lest he catch Esau in a bad mood. Verse 6, the messengers return saying, we came to your brother Esau and furthermore he is coming to meet you and 400 men are with him.
Now that's not good news. If he would have said, he's coming to meet you, that's one thing. He's coming to meet you and his homeboys are with him. Jacob's response is given in verse 7. It says, and Jacob was greatly afraid.
He is in a crisis. But we find something very interesting in verse 9. And Jacob said, O God, of my father Abraham and my father Isaac. In the middle of a crisis. Jacob remembers God.
You know there's something about a crisis.
Something about a crisis. That'll help you remember God. One of the reasons why God allows Esau is in your life. Crisis. Things that make you depressed and afraid.
It's so that you might remember God. God allows a crisis In Jacob's life, to drive Jacob's back up against a wall, and he says, Oh Lord. You said to me, return to your country, to your relatives, and I will prosper you. That's what you said. It's amazing we can remember the Bible.
We can remember what God said. Ain't quoted a verse all year, but in a crisis. See, Christ says, Make you humble, verse 10. He says, I'm unworthy. Because when God wants to get your attention, he puts your back up against the wall and all of your human negotiating power.
All of the stuff you relied on to get you from where you were to where you are is now to no avail. Because in a crisis You learn how to pray. He prays. and cries out to God that God might intervene. To put it another way, the man is broken.
Spiritually naked before God, he is helpless. Have you ever prayed to God and things get worse? Then better. He just called on God and said, deliver me. And instead of God sending him a blessing.
A man Comes out of nowhere. when he's alone and can't see. It's dark. and jumps on him and he has to fight for his life. When God puts you in this scenario, His purpose is single phone.
He wants you to discover him for yourself. He wants you to meet him in a way you could never meet him in a group. in a service in a gathering. When he takes you to the bottom. He wants you to discover he is the rock at the bottom.
Verse 25. When the man saw that he was not prevailing against him, Jacob is thinking, maybe I'm going to get this thing off of me. The man touches his thigh. and disconnects it. Things have now gone from bad to worse.
He is now in excruciating pain. Trying to fight off this man who has met him in his depression, his loneliness, his fear. You see, sometimes God has to dislocate something. to get us to where he wants us to be. Look at verse 26.
Then he said The man. Who Jacob is wrestling. Let me go for the dawn is breaking. Let me go because the sun is rising. When the sun rises and the darkness is removed, you're going to be able to perceive things that you were not able to perceive when I jumped you at night.
And it was dark. When the sun comes up. You can see things you can't see. When it's pitch dark. As the sun began to rise.
Jacob noticed something. This was not a normal man.
Now, how do you know this is not a normal man? Two ways. One, it says when he prevailed against him, the man simply touched his thigh and click.
So this is a real powerful dude here. If all they gotta do is put a finger and my thigh don't wanna work no more. Secondly of all, it's daybreak.
So he's seeing things like he's never seen them before. All of a sudden, his enemy that was fighting against him. He now sees when the day begins to break. That the same person who looked like he was trying to hurt him. can also Bless you.
Let me explain something. When God puts you in pain. Dislocation. In the midst of depression and loneliness and darkness, there's only one question on the floor. And the question is.
Do you really want to hold on to me? That's the question. Or will you let me go? Most folk in a crisis let him go. Most folk in a crisis, when they don't see any way out, let them go.
Most folk, when they feel dislocation coming on, let them go. In other words, they leave too early. They get away too early. They want to run too early. They want to divorce too quickly.
They want to quit too early. They want to run away. They don't understand that the crisis. was designed to let you see something at daybreak. But if you let him go before daybreak, you won't get to see all that is available to be seen.
If God is letting you wrestle, He wants you to wrestle till daybreak. He wants you to wrestle until your breakthrough comes. Daybreak comes when you see God open up the sky and let you see things you didn't see before. Yeah.
Now watch this. Verse 27. What? Is Your Name. He says, my name is Jacob, which means trickster.
You see, his character. What he was had got in the way of what God wanted to do, and it wasn't until his back was up against the wall that he knew his name. God will not give you A glorious blessing. With a bad character. If your character is bad.
He does not want to mount his goodness on top of bad character because that means when your character goes down, his goodness goes down with it. He wants to change your name because he wants his blessing to match your character. All of a sudden, we've gone, watch this, from a physical battle. to spiritual insight. Because that's what happens at daybreak.
See At nighttime, all you see is the problem. But at daybreak, you see the purpose. At nighttime, all you see is a man hurting you. At daybreak, you see a man blessing you. At nighttime, you see your enemies.
At daybreak, you see how God wanted to use your enemies to show you something about you that you wouldn't have seen if you didn't have your enemies. I know you're wrestling with me to man, Jacob, but the purpose that God has you wrestling with me to man is because he wanted you to see you to man. And I know you thought the problem was your boss at work. And I know you thought the problem was your mate. And I know you thought the problem were your kids.
And I know you thought the problem was your money. But what God is doing in putting your back up against the wall is letting you know the problem might be you. When Dr. Evans returns in a moment, he'll talk about the significance of your name. especially when God decides to change it.
Don't go away. If you've been encouraged by connecting with the urban alternative, whether it's online or on the air, we want to ask you to give your very best year-end gift to help keep that encouragement coming your way. and going out to others as well. Your financial support is vital to helping meet our year-end challenge amount to ensure this outreach remains strong so that more people like you can continue to be encouraged by God's word in the year ahead. Please visit TonyEvans.org to give today.
That's TonyEvans.org. Before we get back to Dr. Evans, I want to tell you about the special resource package we're currently offering. It's called Soul Starved, Journey to the Source. A 12-message collection that explores how God often uses struggle, loss, and disappointment to reignite our passion for Him.
These are transparent and practical messages, filled with biblical truth and spiritual encouragement. Along with this audio collection, we'll also send you Tony's insightful book, God Himself, A Journey Through His Attributes. It'll help you see that even in your most painful moments, the God who is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving is still right there with you. This special package is available for a limited time as our thank you gift when you make a donation to support the alternative. Just visit tonyevans.org to make your request.
or call 1-800-800-3222 to speak with one of our helpful resource team members. I'll repeat that contact information for you after the second part of today's lesson. Let's get back to doctor Evans in the book of Genesis. Verse 28. Your name shall no longer be Jacob.
I'm changing your name because I'm adjusting your character. Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed. Woah. Oh, we could go on with just that verse. He says, listen to me, I'm going to change your name.
It's good news when God changes your name. It's real good news. when God changes your name. The change of a name meant a new identity. He was being made brand new.
I know you want your breakthrough. I know you want your situation to change. But God not only wants to change your situation for you, he wants to change you for your situation. He wants to make you different. He wants to transform you.
He wants you to have a new name. Israel means I have striven with God. It's a new identity. But look at what he says. You have striven with God, that's the spiritual realm, and with men, that's the physical realm, and you have won both.
You see?
Some of us have striven with men. and are doing fine. But we've not yet striven with God. But it says, when you strive with God, that is, you wrestle with God. about the affairs that you are facing with men.
And when the two come together. God and man. He says, then you prevail, then you get your breakthrough. When you wrestle through the pain of your passionate pursuit of God, you then get your breakthrough and not until. Every time you run.
When God is not through with what he's trying to do with you and you take off and quit, I just want you to know you have just set yourself up for what? the retest. Because he's going to put your back up against the wall again and again and again. And he'll do it as long as it takes. It's like a cowboy breaking a horse.
The cowboy gets on the side of a wild stallion. That wild stallion says, get off of me, get off of me, and begins to buck all over the place. If it's a good cowboy, even if you throw it off, he coming right back. Until you break. Then Jacob asked him.
Mr., tell me your name. He says, why is it that you ask my name? And he blessed him there. That's curious. Jacob says, Who are you?
The man says Sure. And you don't need to know. Let me explain that. When God is doing his thing, he's not going to answer all your questions. Yeah.
When God is doing this thing, he's not going to tell you everything he's doing. I know you mad because you ask him, why do you have me going through this? And he not saying a word. Why me? Why now?
Why? Why? Why? And you're not getting any answer from God. You don't need the answer as long as you get the blessing.
It says he didn't answer the question, but he left behind the blessing. The question is, what was the blessing? I want to know what he left behind for Jacob. And the text does tell us what the blessing is. You got to go back and let me just bring you up.
From a teenager, Jacob wanted one thing. He wanted the inheritance of his father Isaac.
So that the birthright would pass to him.
So that God would be the God of Abraham and Isaac, but then not Esau, but Jacob. In other words, he wanted the covenanted blessing of Abraham transferred through him, not through Esau. The problem is It was a big blessing for a messed up man. God had to bring him in line in order to prepare him for the blessing. What God's gonna do for you, Satan?
He's already determined. But he will not do it until you're ready for it. Let you mess it up when you get it. The blessing was now the official transference of the birthright that he stole. He stole it as a teenager, which meant it was his illegitimately.
It's given to him. Here in this chapter, because he gets it from God. Sh The stuff you get without God, you can't enjoy. You can have it, but you can't enjoy it and you can't use it because God won't honor it. But when God gives it to you, nobody else can have it.
We come to a close here. He renames the place in verse 30 because he says, I've seen God's face, yet my life has been preserved. Wait a minute, wait a minute. I'm confused, Jacob. I thought you were wrestling with a man.
Watch us now. The text says a man wrestled with him all night long. But when he sets his memorial in place, his throne of remembrance by renaming the place, he says, I have striven with God. You never know how God's going to show up. That's why the Bible says Men entertain angels unaware in Hebrews 13 because God shows up in weird ways.
Sometimes he shows up as God. I mean, you know it's God, nothing but God, but sometimes he shows up. in a wrestling match.
Sometime he can show up in the World Wrestling Federation.
Sometimes he shows up as your enemy only to let you know he's your friend. Do you know that bad situation you're in right now could be the greatest opportunity of your life if you wrestle till daybreak? But if you quit too soon, you'll never discover that the one wrestling with you was God. That the one causing you to be dislocated was God. that the one who got you fired was God.
That the one who's giving you a hard time was God. That the one who took something away from you was God. That the one who's causing you to sweat is God. And you've been blaming it on the devil all the time. Ain't nothing but the devil.
Well, you better make sure you strive long enough to make sure it ain't nothing but God. If somebody's wrestling with you, it's easy to mistake the fact that it may be the devil when it may be God. He says, I have striven with God. It's wonderful to know that the one who fought against you is the same one fighting for you. And I have with our kids sometimes.
Mama, Daddy, why are you on my back? And your answer is because I love you. Why are you making so tough on me? Why I have to be in so early when my friends can stay out so late? Mama, Daddy, why are you on my back?
Yeah.
Because the one on your back the most is the one who loves you the best. Jacob was planning to meet his brother and have a conversation with him and give him gifts and do all this. to make things right. That was a conversation he never had to have. Because when he got his breakthrough, God took care of his enemies.
There's only one other point. Verse 31 says, and he was limping on his thigh. Jacob walked in here right now. Here's how he come in. Become Olympic.
He's limping.
Now, you and I looking at Jacob. If we didn't know anything about him. Let's say, oh. Oh, so well, I wonder what happened to him. Yeah.
Wonder how he hurt his leg? Maybe it was in a car wreck. I feel.
So sorry for him. He hurting so bad. But now if we turn the pulpit over to Jacob. Say Jacob. Curious about your limp.
Folk in Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship feel so bad that you're limping. Oh, Jacob, if he had the pulpit, would say, Don't feel bad for me. This lip the best thing ever happened to me. Because this lip means I met God. This lip means God touch me.
This lip means every time I get ready to act like I don't need God, I remember my limb. Shit! And when I remember my lamp, I remember I can do nothing without God. When God gives you your breakthrough, he's going to also give you a lamp. He's gonna give you something to remind you.
It's not by mic. It's not by power. It's by my spirit, says the Lord. And every time you feel your lip, you ought to praise him. Every time you feel your lip, you ought to glorify him because that lip means he loved you enough.
To dislocate you so that you'd never forget him again. Praise him for the limp. Because it means that he loves you. when it gives you your breakthrough. Bless his holding.
Dr. Tony Evans with an encouraging message about victory from the Lord. in spite of the pain and cost.
Now, if you're still in the midst of a battle, if the Lord's deliverance hasn't yet come through for you. It's easy to start wondering if God has wandered off somewhere and forgotten you.
Well, Tony addresses this and much more in his book, God Himself. It's a powerful look at the character, presence, and glory of the Lord. Who longs to fill your deepest needs? Discover how your hunger for more is really a call to know him better. For a limited time, you can receive this powerful book, Along with all twelve full-length messages in Dr.
Evans' current sermon series, Soul Starved: Journey to the Source. They're both our gift to you, and thanks for your donation in support of the alternative ministry. To take advantage of this offer, visit tonyevans.org. where you can find all the details right on the home page. Or if it's more convenient, just give us a call at 1-800-800-3222.
where a member of our friendly resource team is ready to assist with your request any time of the day or night. Again, that's online at tonyevans.org. Or by phone, 24-7 at 1-800-800-3222. When your heart or your spirit feel like they're breaking, What you want is relief, not patience.
Well, tomorrow, Dr. Evans explores the hidden benefits we can find in the process of waiting on the Lord. I hope he'll join us for that.
