Most of us live without the blessing of God.  We are self-sufficient, as Jacob was, trying to make it on our own.  Sometimes we achieve a measure of success which is recognized and applauded by others, just as Jacob did.  But something is missing.  We lack the sense of God's approval, of His blessing on our lives.  Perhaps we can learn how to get the blessing of God as we look at Jacob's experience at Peniel recorded in Genesis 32.

     JACOB ADMITTED HE NEEDED GOD'S BLESSING.  It took Jacob a long time to come to that place in his life.  He struggled and schemed and tried right down to the end.  He didn't want to admit he had need.  But God helped him, as He often helps us, by putting him in a place where he could see his own insufficiency.  He was out of fellowship with Laban.  He was out of fellowship with Essau and with their father, Isaac.  He was afraid (v.7).  He was alone (v.24).  He was crippled (v.25).  Only then did Jacob admit he needed God's blessing (v.26).

     JACOB DETERMINED TO HAVE GOD'S BLESSING.  As important as it is to admit our need, that will not get us the blessing.  We must take another step.  We must actually seek it.  That's what Jacob did.  He had gotten along without the blessing of God all his life, but now he didn't want to live another day without it.  When God said, "Let me go, for the day breaketh", Jacob said, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me"(v.26).  He was determined to have the blessing of God.

     JACOB SURRENDERED TO GET GOD'S BLESSING.  God wrestled with Jacob (not the other way around), but God did not prevail.  Why?  God had the power to force Jacob to surrender, but He wouldn't do that to Jacob any more than He will do it to us.  He didn't prevail because He wanted Jacob to exercise his free will and choose to surrender to God.  Jacob did this.  He surrendered his self-effort as he asked for the blessing (v.26).  He couldn't buy it or steal it or earn it.  He had tried those methods.  It must be a gift of grace.  So in humility he simply asked for it.  He surrendered his self-importance by asking, since the one who gives the blessing is always greater than the one who receives it.  He surrendered himself when he told God his name (v.27), and acknowledged who he really was: Jacob - Trickster.

     JACOB RECEIVED GOD'S BLESSING.  God had been ready for a long time.  He was waiting on Jacob.  When Jacob admitted he needed it, determined to have it, and surrendered to get it, God blessed him there (v.29).  And his life was forever changed (v.31)  "He passed over Peniel" - he went beyond the experience.  "The sun rose upon him" - a new day, a new beginning.  "And he halted upon his thigh" - a permanent limp, a constant reminder of God's grace.

     What happened to Jacob can happen to us, if we choose God's blessing.