Desperate Faith: A Jacob Heart (part one)
February 24, 2010
The most powerful and innovating times of my life are captured in the presence of God. The more desperate am I for Him and His Kingdom to come––the greater my identity, purpose, and power is elevated. When I got saved I began to pray a prayer, “God make me the hungriest”, and then this prayer soon became a declaration, “God, I am the hungriest; I’m soo thirsty for you, I’m desperate.” It has never been a competition between another brother or sister in the faith, but while I was in Teen Challenge I secretly wanted to be like Moses or Job. When the Lord look upon a community of people and saw them, he saw desperate humble men––someone he could trust to do his work. I wanted to do great works for the Lord. I learned very early in the faith that I had to be desperate for the things of God, and it was the grace and Spirit of God, which facilitated that.
I’ve learned that the battle between the flesh and Spirit is one that the flesh works to dissemble the total surrendered mindset to God. The flesh works to make our faith dead, mundane, or routine. If we become unproductive and mundane in our faith we cannot reach the lost, influence the earth, nor change history. We must elevate and remain into a realm of desperation! God is calling us to be slaves of righteousness, in that, we are sold out completely to His domain––God’s Kingdom. We can change history through elevating into a desperate faith. Jacob was one of the desperate ones who would not settle for the mundane and unproductive faith, rather he wrestled with the Angel of the Lord, God, all night until he was touched by Him. He sees the person of God manifest, and is enveloped by His presence through faith. By following the lifestyle in the texts of desperate faith we can change history.
Desperate for the person and presence of God. (Gen. 32:24-31)
Jacob was one of the desperate ones, insomuch, he wrestled with the physical manifestation of God all night and would not let Him go. He sent all his wives, maidservants, sons, and possessions across the stream of Jabbok, and was completely alone. This act, possibly knowingly or unknowingly, was preparation for what was about to take place through the night and morning hours. Jacob set himself up for the person and presence of God. The Angel of the Lord, God, touched and wrench the socket of Jacob’s hip because he held onto him and would not let him go until he blessed him. Jacob was given the name Israel because he struggled with God and men and overcame. The next day he was walking with a limp because of his hip that was touched by God.
We can elevate into a desperate faith that changes history through the hungering for the person and presence of God. In order to do this another we must take this work personal, in that we set ourselves up for the presence of God. Jacob sent away everyone and thing, every possible distraction or anything that might take his focus away. I have the feeling Jacob knew he was about to go after God; I have the feeling Jacob knew he was about to meet with the Creator of all, so he positioned himself to wrestle all night long. God is looking for people, communities, and nations that will cast everything away, and send it over the river in order for one to meet with His manifest presence.
The presence and person of God so much affected Jacob that the Bible says the next day he was walking with a lip because his hip was touched by the Lord. The presence and person of God changes the very way we walk. When we set ourselves up for God, he has acutely set us up for Him. He wants to touch your life so much that you will walk different, peculiar, unique, in that everyone around you will know the change.
This is from Wesley’s journal from Jan. 1, 1739: “About sixty of our brethren until three in the morning, the power of God came mightily on us, insomuch that many cried out for exceeding joy, and many fell to the ground.” John Wesley prayed, “Lord send us revival without its defects but if this is not possible, send revival, defects and all.”
Can you hear the sounds of desperation? The cry for the person and presence of God?
By consecrating yourself in the secret place through putting away everything and being alone while setting your attention of the Father, you are setting yourself up for Jesus.You can change history by having and encounter with the manifest presence and person of God. We have the great invitation to be a people inhabiting the presence of God.
Written by Michael Krysty
