创世记三十二章二十二至三十二节叙述神所拣选的人－雅各－一生中关键性的经历。这实在是神圣话语中很不平常的一段。这是圣经中独一的一处，没有别处和这一处类似。雅各在本章的经历非常实际、个人且亲密。主在人的形状里和雅各摔跤，“直到黎明。”（创三二24。）主神绝不会和陌生人或不信的罪人摔跤。请注意这里没有告诉我们，那人“来”和雅各摔跤。没有一节说，“当雅各独自留在那里思想他的难处时，主来和他摔跤。”不，这里只说，“有一个人和他摔跤，”（创三二24，直译，）指明那人已经在那里，他用不着来。这启示主一直与雅各同在。
为甚么主突然开始和雅各摔跤？这必定是有原因的。这是因着雅各的背景。当他返回他父亲之地时，他有两个难题－拉班在后面，以扫在前面。他从拉班篡夺的手里得了释放，现在面临与他哥哥以扫的碰面，这叫他感觉绝望。就在这时候，发生了摔跤的事。雅各所打发的人已经回来报告，以扫带着四百人正迎着他来。雅各听见这报告，就惊吓起来。照着雅各的领会，以扫若是来欢迎他，用不着带四百人。在他看来，以扫好像一个军长带着军队而来。无疑的，雅各以为以扫是来击杀他。雅各相信这事，就被迫祷告。他作了绝佳的祷告之后，就把他给以扫的牲囗礼物分作九群。但他没有平安，因为他的难题还是直接在他面前。所以，创世记三十二章二十二、二十三节说，“他夜间起来，带着两个妻子，两个使女，并十一个儿子都过了雅博渡口。先打发他们过河，又打发所有的都过去。”作了这一切之后，雅各独自一人，也许在考虑进一步的情况。他不知道若是以扫来攻击，他该怎么办。雅各的担子沉重，情况危急，他是绝望的。
圣经没有指明，雅各独自一人时祷告。很多时候，你没有受到困扰时祷告，但深受困扰时却不祷告。你越受困扰就越少祷告。因为难处深重，情况危急，你简直无法祷告。为甚么？因为你还没有被打倒。无论问题如何严重，你还没有被打倒。我们好像雅各，一面无法向前，另一面却不祷告，反而停留在那里，思考局面，问自己该怎么办。
信息重点：主一直与我们同在，并借着环境开始祂破碎天然生命的工作。
应用祷告：主耶稣，感谢你一直与我同在，从未离开我。求你让我在每一个环境中看见你的手，愿意接受你在我身上的工作。阿们。
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Jacob’s Experience – Being Broken (1) — Gen. 32:22-23
Genesis 32:22-32 records a crucial experience in the life of Jacob, the one whom God had chosen. This is truly an extraordinary portion of the divine Word. It is a unique passage in the Bible; there is no other place like it. Jacob’s experience in this chapter is real, personal, and intimate. The Lord, in the form of a man, wrestled with Jacob “until daybreak” (Gen. 32:24). The Lord God would never wrestle with a stranger or an unbelieving sinner. Notice that this passage does not tell us that this man “came” to wrestle with Jacob. It does not say, “While Jacob was left alone thinking over his difficulty, the Lord came and wrestled with him.” No, it simply says, “a man wrestled with him” (Gen. 32:24), indicating that this man was already there — he did not need to come. This reveals that the Lord had been with Jacob all along.
Why did the Lord suddenly begin to wrestle with Jacob? There must have been a reason, and it had to do with Jacob’s background. As he returned to his father’s land, he had two problems — Laban behind him and Esau ahead of him. He had just been delivered from Laban’s usurping hand, and now he faced meeting his brother Esau, which made him feel utterly hopeless. It was at this very moment that the wrestling took place. The messengers Jacob had sent ahead had returned with a report that Esau was coming to meet him with four hundred men. When Jacob heard this, he was terrified. As Jacob understood it, if Esau were coming to welcome him, he would not need to bring four hundred men. In Jacob’s eyes, Esau looked like a general marching with an army. Undoubtedly Jacob thought Esau had come to kill him. Believing this, he was driven to pray. After making an excellent prayer, he divided the livestock he intended as a gift for Esau into nine droves. But he still had no peace, because his problem remained directly before him. Therefore Genesis 32:22-23 says, “Now he arose that same night and took his two wives and his two maids and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream. And he sent across whatever he had.” After doing all this, Jacob was left alone, perhaps considering what would happen next. He did not know what he should do if Esau came to attack. Jacob’s burden was heavy, the situation was urgent, and he was without hope.
The Bible does not indicate that Jacob prayed while he was left alone. Many times we pray when we are not troubled, but when we are deeply troubled, we do not pray. The more troubled we are, the less we pray. Because the difficulty is so severe and the situation so urgent, we simply cannot pray. Why? Because we have not yet been struck down. No matter how serious the problem, we have not yet been struck down. We are like Jacob — on the one hand unable to move forward, yet on the other hand not praying, but instead remaining there, pondering the situation, asking ourselves what we should do.
Message Main Points: The Lord has always been with us, and it is through our environment that He begins the work of breaking our natural life.
Daily Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for always being with me, never having left me. I ask that in every environment I would see Your hand and be willing to accept Your work in me. Amen.