La Feria Church of Christ

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"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matt. 28:18-20)

Genesis Chapter 32 records one of the strangest stories told in the Old Testament, in which Jacob wrestles a mysterious man through an entire night. Jacob is one of the forefathers of our faith, but prior to this wrestling match he was not much more than a liar and a thief.

You may recall, in Genesis 27, where Jacob stole his twin brother Esau's birthright and blessing. Jacob later disguised himself as his twin brother and blatantly lied to his dying father in order to steal the largest inheritance. Esau swore that he would kill his brother after their father died, which caused Jacob to flee his home. Jacob spent the next 20 years with his father-in-law, Laban, where he continued to be deceitful and self-willed.

Many years pass, and Jacob now is a rich man. He has a large family and large flocks, and now must flee his father-in-law's home under command of the Lord. Jacob decides to return to his original home where he grew up, but that means he must face his deceit against Esau.

As he and his family travel home, Jacob hears that Esau is just across the countryside, heading right to him with 400 men. Jacob fears for his family, so he sends them in separate groups while he stays behind and prays to God. Deep into the night, as he is praying his earnest prayer, a Man appears in Jacob's camp and the two begin a wrestling match that lasts all night.

Genesis 32:22-31 records the strange story. At some point during the wrestling match, Jacob seemed to come to the conclusion that he was not wrestling against an earthly man, but a heavenly being. And so, Jacob goes from attacking this Man to just clinging to Him and requesting a blessing.

The Heavenly being tells Jacob to let go, but Jacob refuses to let go until he receives a blessing. Jacob now sees that what he thought previously was a battle, actually turned out to be an opportunity for a blessing.

Often times in life we may experience misery, pain, and heartache. We may feel like we don't deserve it. Maybe we ask God, "Why is this happening to me?" If you are in this situation, let the strange story of Jacob's wrestling match be a comfort to you.

This biblical account teaches us that many of life's great trials can turn into blessings if we just hang on and cling to God. Jacob's wrestling match started in conflict, but ended in a blessing. As we know from Biblical example or from experience, all of God's people will experience hardships. But take faith that sometimes our greatest trials can turn into blessings if we just hang on.

James 1:2, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing."

Another verse that helps comfort us in trials is found in Romans 8:28 "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

This verse promises that, if we remain faithful to God, He will take every event that occurs in our lives, positive and negative, and work them out for our ultimate good. This verse does NOT say that everything in life that happens to us will be positive, happy, and joyous. What this verse says is that all the events of our life, both good and bad, will work out to our ultimate spiritual good if we remain faithful to God.

Many of us have experienced a trial in life that felt nearly impossible to survive. But later in life, sometimes months or even years later, when we look back at that challenge, test, or trial that we endured, we could clearly see God working it out for our ultimate spiritual good. Think of Jacob.

During the wrestling match, the heavenly being reached down and removed his hip from its socket, which made Jacob walk with a limp the rest of his life. And yet that physical trial turned into a blessing for Jacob, because from that wrestling match on, he was no longer self-willed and deceitful. Jacob was able to recognize that this battle, a trial of his character and strength, was actually an opportunity to grow and be better for God.

As Christians today, we can greatly benefit from recognizing that God is always working for our ultimate good, even if times are tough at the moment. We can have great comfort from trusting and clinging to God when we are enduring hardships, trials, and tests. Because, God will help His faithful servant. And, we can rest assured that through study and application of the scripture to our lives, God can help us to turn our personal battles into spiritual blessings.

There is a story of a young man who decided that he wanted to earn a college degree. He was accepted at a prestigious University and began his studies. But the night before one of his exams, this young man was invited to a party and he skipped preparing for the test. Days later, a paper was due. Instead of working on his assignment, the young man went on a camping trip with friends. Mid-term studying was put off due to a canoe trip. And rather than study for finals, he went on a date with his girlfriend. As you can imagine, this young man flunked out of college. The young man had made a great decision in life: To go to college. But he failed in the goal because of a series of small unwise decisions.

In a similar way, the same is true for us today. Our goal is to make Heaven our eternal home, but many fail in that goal not because of a single unwise decision. Rather people generally lose their faith because of a series of small unwise decisions just like that college student. At the same time, people do not become stronger in the Lord because of a single big decision. Rather, one becomes stronger in the Lord because they make a series of seemingly small but very wise decisions.

Making wise choices is something the Bible talks a great deal about. The word wise or wisdom appears 197 in the Bible, 35 of which are in the NT. But rather than read all of these verses, the conclusion we can reach is that the Bible is rich in offering us advice on how to make wise decisions. You know we can know if we are wise according to the Bible or not. Just like how you can know what sickness you have based on your symtoms, you can know if you are Biblically wise based on symtpoms as well. Here are some of the symptoms of wisdom:

We can make the small yet wise decision to watch our words. It is estimated that a talkative person speaks over 100,000 words every day. Words have the power to strengthen us spiritually, encourage us to live faithfully, or even to correct us. But words also have the power to destroy souls, damage relationships, and ruin congregations. Prov. 10:19--In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise.

James 3:2--For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.

We can make the small yet wise decision to listen to counsel. Everyone of us needs some advice and coaching from time to time. We find ourselves in situations where we need to seek the counsel of someone with more experience, age, and our spiritual elder. Prov. 13:10--By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom.

We can make the small yet wise decision to be humble. How many of life's problems are generated because we think too highly of ourselves and our own opinions, and we begin to think we are better than others around us. Luke 9:48 "Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me. For he who is least among you all is the one who is great.". The mind of humility is also taught in Phil. 2:5-7

We can make the small yet wise decision to live the life of a New Testament Christian. If we truly are wise from the Bible's standards, then it will be evident from the lives we live. James 3:13-James asks the question that we are considering and then says: Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. Eph. 5:15-16--See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 1 Peter 2:12-13-If you are wise, you will understand that you represent Christ and the Church to the world wherever you go, and that people are watching you, the way you act, the way you dress, the way you talk, your attitude, everything about you.

Solomon, the very man who asked God for that great gift, after all of his wordly experiences and in all his wisdom stated in Eccl. 12:13--Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all.

These are only a few of the symptoms of true wisdom, but there are indeed many more, as James tells us James 3:17--But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

If you want to reach Heaven as your goal, remember, a person does not fall away from the Lord generally in one giant step. Rather they fall away by making a series of unwise decisions. If we want to know if we are wise, let us look into the Bible and see for ourselves.

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Article: Wise Decisions

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