Genesis 32:8, Breaking our addictions

“Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.”

Jacob was a manipulator. “Manipulating” people was his “sin of choice“. And…it was making his life unmanageable. As he contemplated his return to Esau he knew there were issues between the two of them. He was concerned enough that he prepared for battle.

Jacob was prepared to recognize his own shortcomings in his relationship with Esau. We see later in the chapter…when he wrestled with the angel…Jacob was transformed and much of it was due to his willingness to bear responsibility for his actions.  And when we see Jacob’s name changed we see the potential of something new. When we look at this chapter thoughtfully we can see something remarkably similar to a 12 step program emerging (12 sons, a coincidence? I think not!) .
1.       We admit we are powerless over our sinfulness—that our lives have become unmanageable (Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid)
2.      Come to believe that a Power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity. (I won’t let you go until you bless me!).

I don’t often wonder what prevents me from mending relationships. It usually begins with a conviction that I can manage things on my own. It goes downhill from there. Corrective action generally looks a lot like Jacob, recognizing the mess we’ve made of things. But…their is more.

§  Admit to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
§  Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of  character.
§  Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
§  Make a list of all persons we have harmed, and become willing to make amends to them all.
§  Make direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
§  Continue to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admit it.
§  Seek through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
§  Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other sinners, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Sound familiar? It’s not just for alcohol and drugs. It’s for whatever sin is getting in your way. It’s transformative but…I didn’t say it was easy!

Live boldly out there today…