9 Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel.11 Also God said to him: “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body.
God’s great love for us is demonstrated in the way He transforms us from what we were to what He knows we can be. Here, Jacob has changed. His days of being known for deceptions are past, family conflicts are resolved, and the insecurities that once drove his behavior have been soothed through his developing relationship with God. He’s becoming a new man, and God gives him a new name to match. Israel is a name associated with the way God will bless Jacob, rather than a description of what Jacob had been on his own.
Now, your nametag may not have changed since Christ began His work in your life, but what else has changed? How are you different today than when you first met Christ? How would your friends and family describe the difference? If the gap between what you are and what you were seems pretty amazing, spend today thanking God for that reality. If the gap isn’t very large, let today mark a new direction in your life—one where you let God guide you more fully. He has amazing plans for you.
– Dr. Mike Clarensau serves as Senior Director of the Healthy Church Network of the Assemblies of God.
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