The Bible says, ‘Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip’ (v.30-31 NIV). Without God’s protective hand on our lives, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Even if we think God can’t use us, or we think we’ve done all we can, God hasn’t finished with us. Even when other people doubt our abilities to carry out what God’s called us to do (and even when we doubt ourselves), God doesn’t cast us aside. He always has more for us and can use us. After God finished wrestling with him, Jacob said, ‘My life was spared.’ There was so much more to come, more that Jacob could accomplish for God. The Bible says that God ‘creates new things out of nothing’ (Romans 4:17 NLT). He wants to set things in place in our lives that weren’t there before. Good things! But notice something very important: ‘Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak’ (Genesis 32:24 NIV). When God needs to deal with us on important issues, He does it one-to-one, not as part of a crowd. In fact, being in a crowd can prevent us hearing His voice. Being alone with God can feel nerve-wracking because our egos and the protective facades we’ve built up get stripped away. We might want to stay with the crowd at first, but they can’t calm the restlessness we feel when our spirits respond to God’s call. We needn’t be afraid of God’s calling us to be alone with Him. It’s just the start of His next chapter for our lives.

What Now?

We all have times when we feel stuck in a rut. If that’s how you’re feeling, try to spend some time with God today, away from all distractions, to really listen and focus on what He wants you to know about His plans.