The Way You Walk

Have you ever intended to do the right thing but still somehow ended up doing the wrong thing? They say, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions” but having good intentions does not automatically give us the power to do the right thing (Clairvaux). We know the law, we know the rules, yet our impulse to sin pushes right past our knowledge and ignores what is right. Paul talks about it in Romans, “For the good that I would, I do not: but the evil which I would not, that, I do” (7:19). There is a will to do good, what is lacking is the power to perform it without flesh getting in the way.

It was time to go home. God had told Jacob to go home and promised to be with him. But when Jacob heard that Esau was headed towards him, accompanied by 400 men, he freaked out. The last time he had seen his brother, Esau had threatened his life. Jacob was at a crossroads, should he A. Trust the God who told him to go home, provided His angels for protection, set up camp with him, promised that everything would be all right, or B. Panic with fear and yield to his carnal nature by devising a plan to ensure he survived his brother's potential attack? B. He chose B.

To the natural eye, Jacob had reason to be afraid. Sure, God had instructed him to go home but the last time he saw his brother he had cheated him out of his birthright. His mother Rebekah told him that she would send for him when Esau cooled down, but she never sent for him (Gen. 27:45). To the spiritual eye, Jacob had absolutely no reason to be afraid, God had just delivered him from his angry, jealous father-in-law and there were literal angels camped out all around him! Unfortunately, “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:41). Jacob was used to being the shrewdest person in the room and this was no time to stifle his abilities. This way, if God did not come through, at least he had a backup plan. So, he divided his family into groups. If one group was attacked, the next would have a chance to escape. It was sort of a hierarchy, the favored ones in the back, the expendable ones in the front. If they made it out of this, they would have the most uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner ever.

Somewhere in between freaking out and scheming, Jacob realized that he needed to pray. He even quoted God's promise in his prayer. It was like Jacob wanted to do right but could not help himself like it was part of his identity. Then he found himself wrestling with God. You always hear that Jacob was the one wrestling, that he would not let go without a blessing, but scripture says, “A Man wrestled with Jacob” not “Jacob wrestled with a Man” (Gen. 32:24). Semantics, right, why does it matter? Because, while Jacob may have wanted a blessing, the Man, Jesus, wanted something too. He wanted Jacob to let go and let God, He wanted Jacob's self-sufficient identity, even if he had to wrestle it away from him.

We may forget that Jacob was part of a much bigger plan. God was using this family to bless the entire world and He would not allow the wiles of Abraham's grandson to interfere. No one gets in the way of God's plan. Jacob was stripped of his identity and received a new name, Israel. The supplanter had finally been conquered. He would not let go without a blessing because now, that is all he had. Jacob was a new man, he even walked differently.

Until our flesh is conquered, we will always be inclined to do wrong. Some of us will freely surrender to God and others will have to be wrestled to the ground.

Esau greeted his brother warmly. He had not seen him in years. Jacob looked the same, but something was different, he did not used to walk with a limp, did he? Esau noticed that Jacob's walk was different than before. When you follow Jesus, it should not be as easy for you to do the wrong thing. You will not be perfect, but you should walk differently, enough for others to notice.

Paul knew there would be a constant struggle to do right so, he looked to Jesus (Rom. 7:24). The outward man looks to the flesh, and the inward man looks to Jesus. The inward man is often the result of a wrestling match with God. He is the new identity, the one who finally realizes that he cannot overcome his flesh by himself. Making Jesus Master of your life does not take away the carnal struggle, it gives you the supernatural power to combat the flesh. Surrender to Jesus and He will make you brand new. He will even change the way you walk.