Can outrageous never seen before miracles happen in the midst of the craziness in our nation? I’ve personally witnessed the hand of God moving very swiftly and definitively in people’s lives hurling them into a new life situation beyond what they could have ever imagined before. I’m seeing incredible floods of blessing for those who have prayed, hoped and believed God. Spiritually at moments throughout the day I tap into pockets of glory and joy signaling what is coming. Bursts of deliverance are breaking through like explosions from Heaven. The Lord keeps reminding me that Jesus said “greater works will you do” and that hasn’t happened yet! As I read Jacob’s story of his journey back home God began to reveal some things to me paralleling where we are today.
“As Jacob started on his way again, angels of God came to meet him. When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, “This is God’s camp!” So he named the place Mahanaim.”
Genesis 32:1-2 NLT
Jacob’s journey to the promise started with an angelic encounter. Manahaim means “two camps”! He was assured by the presence of Heavenly messengers that he was perfectly in the will of God and accompanied by the hosts of Heaven. Even though Jacob eagerly obeyed God in returning home he still carried fear in his heart.
“After delivering the message, the messengers returned to Jacob and reported, “We met your brother, Esau, and he is already on his way to meet you—with an army of 400 men!””
Genesis 32:6 NLT
The men said Esau had an “army”. Why did they perceive it as an army? Maybe because Jacob was already afraid of his brother and communicated it to his people thus framing their perspective. They expected trouble and it looked like they had found it. Fear causes us to misinterpret things around us and falsely frames our viewpoint.
“Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’ I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps! O Lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children. But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’””
Genesis 32:9-12 NLT
Jacob accessed the presence of God, which is always available to us, and reminded Him of His words and declared that he had obeyed and was in God’s will. Sometimes just speaking these things can spiritually clear the path ahead of you. Your faith in God’s promises and obedience to trust them and live them out in faith with actions aligns your feet with the path to destiny. He reminded God of all that He had done for Him, recounting all His wonderful deeds then spoke the prophetic words God had spoken to him. “God, You never let me down, You have never left me, You promised me I would be the head and not the tail, above only and not beneath and I believe Your words”. Following these steps will catapult you into a divine position of favor, wash glory across your thoughts, shift your perspective and accelerate your movement along the divine path God has set out for your life.
Here’s an example using a promise of God as a catapult to purpose in the face of opposition:
Psalm 18:35 ““You have given me your shield of victory. Your right hand supports me; your help has made me great.”
Speak this promise to God. When you speak it as you confront resistance it becomes a powerful weapon to cause your enemy to back off. Speak it to God then sort through the words or phrases individually to extract deeper meaning. “Lord You have given me Your shield of victory. This means that I am covered by Your victory. I war with Your victory, it’s what the enemy sees when he tries to oppose me, and I’m protected by Your victory”.
Let’s study the next step.
“Jacob stayed where he was for the night. Then he selected these gifts from his possessions to present to his brother, Esau: 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 30 female camels with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys.”
Genesis 32:13-15 NLT
As he continued to move forward courageously in faith Jacob sowed a seed. He presented an offering.
Proverbs 18:16 “a man’s gift makes room for him, And brings him before great men.”
Your offerings to God will open doors for you.
Jacob did this and the next step to his door of destiny was a wrestling between the flesh and the spirit.
“This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” “What is your name?” the man asked. He replied, “Jacob.” “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.””
Genesis 32:24-28 NLT
His flesh wanted to fear the impending threat but his spirit had already obeyed God and was returning home to inherit the destiny God had promised. We all face moments of wrestling in this way. We struggle to ask ourselves “am I listening to my emotions now or The Spirit of God?” In Jacobs life this process of wrestling caused something to break loose, in his case his hip socket, but a breaking through none the less. The end result proving the process had been fully completed was the Lord giving him a new name. Only God can open doors to places we never thought we could experience on this side of Heaven. The process of approaching these great doors of destiny has changed us so much that we are not the people we used to be.
“But Jacob insisted, “No, if I have found favor with you, please accept this gift from me. And what a relief to see your friendly smile. It is like seeing the face of God! Please take this gift I have brought you, for God has been very gracious to me. I have more than enough.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau finally accepted the gift.”
Genesis 33:10-11 NLT
Finally we feel the relief of the total deliverance and complete release into destiny. Again Jacob gives an offering. I would call this a thanksgiving offering celebrating what God has done.
This led him to encounter his brother Esau and discover that his brother loved him and had forgiven him long ago. Jacob traveled on familiar terrain but as he returned to this familiar place he was completely different and surrounded by the abundance of God. So he was returning to a familiar place but his life there would be more wonderful than he could have ever imagined before.
“But Jacob replied, “You can see, my Lord, that some of the children are very young, and the flocks and herds have their young, too. If they are driven too hard, even for one day, all the animals could die.”
Genesis 33:13 NLT
Wisdom, which is knowledge gained from experience, disciplined Jacob to enter the new place gingerly and with care. The terrain was familiar but everything around him had changed. We are entering an existence with God Almighty that none on the earth have ever known before. Everything is new and different and we are moving with high levels of Kingdom glory. We need to take the time to learn how things work in this new place. Expect swift outrageous miraculous moves of God!