Changed by His Love

“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart; these, O God, You will not despise.”

—Psalm 51:17

A constraining power in Christ causes you to know that His love is different from anything else in the world. In Scripture it is called a “sincere love” (1 Peter 1:22). This has a tremendously deep meaning. What is it, exactly? Beloved, Jesus will tell you what it is. It is a denunciation of yourself as the power of Christ lays hold of you. He loved you when you were yet a sinner (Romans 5:8), and He seeks your love in return. His is an unfeigned love, a love that can stand ridicule, persecution, and slander because it is a love brought about in you by the power of the Holy Spirit, changing you from one state of glory to another. Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and “of His kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:33). “He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand” (Isaiah 53:10).

Oh, beloved, what a Christ we have! I want you to see that there is nothing like Him. If you see Him today, you needy ones, and gaze at Him, you will be changed. As you look at Him, you will find that even your natural bodies will change. His strength will come into you, and you will be transformed. He is the God of the sinner; He is the God of the helpless; He is full of mercy. I like the thought of His calling Himself the God of Jacob (Exodus 3:6). When He says He is the God of Jacob, there is room for everybody. I tell you, He is your God, and He is preparing to meet you exactly as He met Jacob.

Jacob had deceived someone in everything he had done. He had deceived Esau to get his birthright (Genesis 25:29–34) and Laban to get his cattle (Genesis 30:25–43). The Devil manipulated Jacob, but, praise God, there was one thing that Jacob knew: he knew that God had fulfilled His promise. In Bethel, God let Jacob see the ladder—a wonderful ladder, for it reached from earth to heaven—and Jacob saw angels ascending and descending upon it (Genesis 28:12). Bethel is the place of prayer. It is a place of changing conditions, of earth entering heaven. God brought Jacob right back to the same place, regardless of how he had wandered. Jacob had to let everything go, and he was left alone. The same old Jacob remained, and as long as God would let him wrestle with Him, he wrestled.

This is an example of holding on to this world—we never let go until we have to. God touched Jacob, and as soon as he was touched, he found out that he was no good. Then the Man said, “Let Me go” (Genesis 32:26). But Jacob answered, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” (verse 26). Friend, God will bless you if you get to that point, but you are no good as long as you wrestle. It is marvelous how God meets us in our distresses. When the cry comes from broken hearts, then God comes.

Thought for today: God will meet you when you come in helplessness and with a real cry of brokenness.