August 20

"And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled¹ a man with him until the breaking of the day" (Gen. 32:24).

God is wrestling with Jacob more than Jacob is wrestling with God.It was the Son of man,the Angel of the Covenant². It was God in human form pressing down and pressing out the old Jacob life; and ere the morning broke, God had prevailed and Jacob fell with his thigh³ dislocated. But as he fell, he fell into the arms of God, and there he clung and wrestled, too, until the blessing⁴ came; and the new life was born and he arose from the earthly to the heavenly, the human to the divine, the natural to the supernatural. And as he went forth⁵ that morning he was a weak and broken man, but God was there instead; and the heavenly voice proclaimed, "Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel; for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed."

Beloved, this must ever be a typical scene in every transformed life. There comes a crisis-hour to each of us, if God has called us to the highest and best, when all resources fail; when we face either ruin or something higher than we ever dreamed; when we must have infinite help from God and yet, ere we can have it, we must let something go; we must surrender completely; we must cease from our own wisdom, strength, and righteousness, and become crucified with Christ and alive in Him. God knows how to lead us up to this crisis, and He knows how to lead us through.

Is He leading you thus? Is this the meaning of your deep trial, or your difficult surroundings, or that impossible situation, or that trying place through which you cannot go without Him, and yet you have not enough of Him to give you the victory?

Oh, turn to Jacob's God! Cast yourself helplessly at His feet. Die to your strength and wisdom in His loving arms and rise, like Jacob, into His strength and all-sufficiency. There is no way out of your hard and narrow place but at the top. You must get deliverance by rising higher and coming into a new experience with God. Oh, may it bring you into all that is meant by the revelation of the Mighty⁶ One of Jacob!--But God—Selected

“At Thy feet I fall, Yield Thee up,my ALL, To suffer LIVE,OR DIE For my Lord crucifield.” 　

八月二十日

「只剩雅各一人。有一个人来和他摔跤，直到黎明。」（创卅二24）

在这里我们看见神来和雅各摔跤。在黎明以前，雅各的大腿窝扭了。但是他一倒下去，正倒在神的双臂中，雅各就紧紧抓住不放，直到得着了他所要的祝福；一个新生命由此产生了。━他倒下去的时候，是一个属地的、属人的、天然的生命，他起来的时候，已成了属天的、属神的、超然的生命了。他那天早晨前行的时候，虽然成了一个疲弱残废的人，神却宣言说：「你的名字不要叫雅各，要叫以色列；因为你与神与人较力都得了胜」

亲爱的读者，如果神要我们进入最高最美的一步。我们每一个人都必须经历同样的争战━一切策略都会失败，所遭遇的尽是想不到的毁灭━那时候，我们必须从神领受超然的能力纔能站住；但是，在领受神超然的能力之前，我们必须先出代价━我们必须完全顺服；我们必须停止我们自己的智慧、能力和公义，与基督同钉十字架，在祂里面复活。神知道怎样引领我们上这一步，祂也知道用甚么方法引领我们经过。

亲爱的读者，神现在是不是正在这样引领你呢？你是不是正遭到了极严重的试炼、极困难的环境、极险恶的情势呢？你是不是没有神竟不能过去呢？你是不是没有力量来得胜呢？

去投靠雅各的神罢！将你自己无力地摔在祂的脚前。在祂慈爱的双臂中死去你自己的能力和智慧，像雅各一样带，着神的能力和充足起来。如果你想走出你的困难狭窄的处境，出路是在顶上。你必须向上走，纔能得到释放。哦，巴不得你也能得到雅各所得到的一切！－－选　

1 wrestled   

v.（与某人）搏斗( wrestle的过去式和过去分词 )；扭成一团；扭打；（与…）摔跤

参考例句：

• As a boy he had boxed and wrestled. 他小的时候又是打拳又是摔跤。
• Armed guards wrestled with the intruder. 武装警卫和闯入者扭打起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 covenant   

n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约

参考例句：

• They refused to covenant with my father for the property.他们不愿与我父亲订立财产契约。
• The money was given to us by deed of covenant.这笔钱是根据契约书付给我们的。

3 thigh   

n.大腿；股骨

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了，疼得很。
• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。

4 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

5 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

6 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。