Hiding Behind a Corkscrew — E.A. Johnston

Taking Sin and Surrender Seriously

The most serious thing to do this side of eternity is to get serious with God. When the Almighty can peer down from His throne in heaven and find a man on his knees in the position of prayer, his face drenched in tears and his heart broken over sin.

When man's only desire is to be pleasing to God and bring Him glory, then that man is getting serious with God. God is on the lookout for such a man, for the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.

And that's the hard part, the heart being perfect toward God part, because we get in the way, we have a ruined nature and are bent toward sin. And sin in the life of a believer is unacceptable to the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Cross, Sin, and the Holy Spirit's Power

At Calvary, He saved us from the penalty of sin, and He saved us from the power of sin. When a man really gets serious with God with a hunger for a deeper reality of God, then that man will get serious about sin, serious about uncovering it in his life, serious about exposing it so it can be dealt with and put away.

Jacob's Crooked Life and the Night at Jabbok

The Christian life is lived only one way, and that's via the cross. When sin is exposed and self is executed, then the Holy Spirit can fill to overflowing and anoint with authority and power. Jacob led an up-and-down existence in his walk with God for a good portion of his life.

He had many highs and many lows, just like many of us. He deceived his father by pretending to be his brother Esau. Jacob was so crooked he could hide behind a corkscrew. But the day arrived when he finally came to the end of himself, when he learned that his brother Esau was riding toward him with 400 men.

We read in Genesis chapter 32,. And Jacob was left alone, and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. This all-night prayer meeting between Jacob and God was a spiritual milestone in Jacob's crooked up-and-down life here at Jabbok.

We find Jacob willing to come out from hiding behind his corkscrew, if I may so speak, to get serious with God. For when a man really gets serious with God, he gets alone with God and bears his soul before God.

He has come to the end of his rope, and all human resources are gone. Only God can intervene and alter the desperate situation. In verse 25 and following, we read,. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh, and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint as he wrestled with him.

And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And it is here, friends, where the work is done, when a man gets so serious with God that he is willing to submit to God in complete surrender to receive a blessing that will change his life.

Jacob's Confession and Transformation into Israel

He's finally gotten to the place of desperation in himself, to where he is sick and tired of sin, and he's ready to surrender to the lordship of Christ Jesus for a victorious life in Christ. The angel of God asked Jacob what his name was, not because he didn't already know it, but he wanted to hear Jacob say it, to admit his name meant supplanter, cheat.

Jacob had to come clean with God so God could clean up Jacob. This had to precede his transformation. And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel. For as a prince hast thou power with God, and with men, and hast prevailed.

Jacob was a changed man from that day forth. He had gotten right with God, and God straightened him out. He was no longer crooked Jacob, but a prince with power. We read in verses 30 and 31. And Jacob called the name of the place, Peniel.

For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved. And as he passed over Peniel, the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. I will stop there, friends, from that moment on, for the rest of his life.

Leaning on God and Living a Consecrated Life

Jacob walked with a limp. Every step he took made him wince in remembrance of that remarkable night of wrestling with God and prevailing prayer. He had to lean upon his staff as he learned to lean upon his God, for he was now a self-emptied man.

And so it is with us, friends, when we too come to our own personal Jabbok and come out from behind our corkscrew and come clean with God. When that happens, God takes notice and brings transformation to the one who emerges from the deep waters of purging and preparation to make a mark for God in his generation.

That kind of consecrated, on-fire-for-God individual can be used of God to bring a Nineveh to its knees in repentance. You want to get on fire for God, friend? Then get right with him in sincerity of heart and come out from behind your corkscrew into the searching spotlight of the Holy Spirit and anticipate change.