17/05/2026
CHANGE FOR THE BETTER
Genesis 32:24-31
Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.
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THE FOUR STEP PROCESS OF CHANGE
1. The first step is CRISIS
v24."Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak..."
This was no ordinary man for later on in our text Jacob says:
"I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved."
He was having a real struggle -and worst of all he came to realize that he was in a no-win situation. By daybreak Jacob was getting tired. He was not going to win and his opponent was not going to win.
Fact: God often uses a crisis to get our attention.
Jacob was in the middle of a wrestling match - but more than that he was in the middle of crisis. It was as if God was saying to him, "Jacob you can't win - Jacob you're just going to get more and more tired - Jacob what are you going to do now?"
God wanted to get his attention.
Drop tower ride - it was not a good thing.
When I was in the middle of the ride I realized that I was in the middle of a crisis.
Sometimes we bring crisis on ourselves-sometimes we don't.
But the truth of the matter is that all of us will experience crisis at one point or another – Jacob did.
Some of us will never get closer to God because we pretend that we're doing alright on our own. We are comfortable where we are at.
We never change because we like the status quo
We will never change until we get uncomfortable
We will never change until we start feeling miserable
We will never change until we find ourselves in the middle of a crisis.
When we get miserable enough - we finally get motivated to let God do something in our lives.
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2. The second step is COMMITMENT
Let me go, for the dawn is breaking." But he (Jacob) said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."
Jacob was committed - he was persistent - he stayed with the situation until he received a blessing. He was in a situation he didn't like - it was frustrating – it was getting him down - he was getting tired-but he said, "I am 100 percent committed to staying with the situation until God blesses me."
LESSON:
After God gets our attention with a crisis
- He doesn't solve it immediately.
- He waits a little longer to see if we really mean business.
Most people try to take the easy path.
Most people quit before the blessing.
Most people will miss God's best for their lives because they give up too soon.
Do you remember this story in the Bible- Matthew 8:19-20
"A scribe came and said to Him, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go." Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."
The Bible doesn't tell us if the scribe continued following Jesus
- but I can tell you this truth..
- some people give up too early.
- Some people give up because the path is not easy.
- Some people give up because it's not convenient.
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3. The third step is CONFESSION
After Jacob tells the wrestler he was not going to let go until he received a blessing the wrestler said to Jacob:
"What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob"
Jacob answered, "My name is Jacob." By saying his name Jacob admitted, "I'm a cheater. I'm a schemer."
He admitted his weaknesses because he was honest. When he identified himself as "Jacob," he was admitting his character flaws.
This is an important process in God changing us, because we never change until we honestly face and admit our faults and sins and weaknesses and mistakes.
God will not go to work on our problem until we first admit that we've got a problem. We need to say, "Lord, I've got a problem and I admit it.” It's at that point that God can go to work."
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4. The fourth step is COOPERATION
After Jacob confessed to God – God said: "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed."
Jacob did not argue with God about the name change. After he had a personal encounter with God he knew that his life would no longer be the same.
God changed Jacob from a cheater and schemer to an Israel - a "Prince of God."
God saw all of Jacob's weaknesses and faults - but He also saw Jacob's potential.
God always knows how to bring out the best in a person's life.
He knows how to do it better than we do.
Now the sun rose upon him just as he crossed over Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh."
Genesis 32:24-31
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There could be three reasons that Jacob would walk with a limp.
First: Is the fact that thigh muscle is one of the most powerful muscles in your body. God touched Jacob's thigh and it became a reminder to Jacob for the rest of his life that he was no longer to trust in his own power or his own might – but he was to trust in the power of God. He was no longer to live in his own strength but in God's strength.
Second: Jacob often got himself into trouble because of his cheating and scheming and most of the time when he was in trouble he simply run away.
God said, "I'll put a limp in his walk. I'll slow you down."
Never again could Jacob just run away from a difficult situation
Third: Limping Jacob was an example of God using a man with all his faults and flaws to be a great leader of a nation. We see God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things - not because they are flawless – but because God is a big God.
