The End of Me

Success can be measured by investing in something and then you see it produce fruit in your life. For example, when I complete a course and get my certificate that is success. When I spend time with my children and they communicate with me that can be considered success. When I eat healthy, exercise, and I am in my best shape that is success.

But sometimes in life you can experience a dead end. You can try, try, try, or work, work, work, and suddenly success is no longer there. Everything that you used to do, doesn’t work anymore. Now you’re at a point of no return point. Or what I call the breaking point.

The breaking point is a time when you feel backed up in a corner. When you have no answers. When you need help. When life is not going your way. Your success formula is no longer working.

This is what happened for a person in the Bible named Jacob (Genesis 32). Jacob was used to getting everything his way. He stole his brother’s Esau birth right. He took away his brother’s blessing. Now fast forward 20 years and he’s about to meet his brother and he does not know what to do. He’s at the breaking point.

But something deeper is going on here. Jacob is finally realizing that his problem is bigger than himself. He realizes all his scheming and deceiving cannot help him anymore. He needs to end his self-sufficient attitude.

Maybe that’s where God has you too. Maybe you are in a corner. Life is not going your way because it’s time to surrender to the Lord and to remove the what is holding you back.

This is what Jacob had to do. In the story a man wrestles with Jacob. This man has been known to be an angel. The angel and Jacob are wrestling, but this is not a physical battle, it’s a spiritual one. Perhaps what you’re going through is a spiritual battle with the Lord. God is wrestling with you because he wants to deal with the part of your life that is not pleasing to him. With Jacob, God was wrestling with his self-sufficient attitude. With you it could be something else. It could be how you use your mouth. How you are treating your spouse. How you spend your money. How you fall into temptation and struggle with an addiction. Whatever the situation is God has you at the breaking point he is wrestling with you because he wants this part of your life to be dealt with and free.

Will you allow God to wrestle with you?

Will you allow him to cleanse you by allowing the Holy Spirit make you anew?

Jacob finally surrendered to God and he changes his name from Jacob to Israel.

The name change was significant because it was about Jacob’s future. No longer was he called by a name that meant deceiver but he was moving forward with a new identity. Jesus did that for us as well. We move from sinner to saint when Christ died and rose on the third day. We are now called holy, chosen, redeemed, forgiven, accepted, adopted, loved, and God’s child! Yet, we might choose to walk by our past name rather than our new identity in him.

It’s time that we surrender to God and let him bless us the same way Jacob surrendered to God and was blessed.

God wants us to have a good life. A blessed life. A holy life. An abundant life. But winning the battle starts with us. We must surrender at our breaking points and let God take full control. We must see the end of ourselves in order to win.

So will you?

Will you surrender to God?

Will you admit that you don’t have the answers?

Will you depend on God?

Will you let God change your future?

Will you let him bless you?

If you do, you won’t be the same. After Jacob encountered and wrestled with God he walked away with a limp. It was physical reminder to Jacob, that something had changed in his life – that something was the end of his self-sufficient attitude. When God is done battling with you, over whatever he needs to sort through in your life, you will know it and see the change in your life. You will be able to say, “it is the end of me.” Galatians 2:20 says it best, “I have been crucified with Christ, I no longer live but Christ lives in me.”

Prayer: Dear God, help me to get past my breaking point. Help me to trust you. To surrender to you and let you take full control of my life. I admit that I have always done life on my own terms and I have not allowed you to fully at the head of my life. I surrender to my will, attitude, heart, and mind to you. In Jesus's Name, Amen.

To watch the full sermon on this topic click below.