'Submit to Transformation'

We quickly picked up the basic principles and tried to put them into practice. The dogs that he went to save were ones that had been hurt or undisciplined. In order for Cesar to heal a dog he would first ‘break’ it. The most aggressive dogs that he dealt with started out in a crate. Cesar would slowly approach it. As he did so, the dog would go wild. He would keep approaching not looking at the dog. Eventually he got right next to the crate and sat down. The dog was going crazy at that point but Cesar was cool as a cucumber. Eventually, the dog would run out of steam. A dog can only keep up the intense aggression for so long. That heightened state couldn’t last. Eventually the dog would run out of adrenalin. Finally, once the dog relaxed, Cesar would begin to work his magic and begin to the next stage of transformation. Cesar wasn’t breaking the dog at all. He was getting the dog into a submissive state of mind so that it could hear him and take his lead.

I think we are sometimes like a scared or angry dog. Sometimes we can’t get rid of the sin and every time we are confronted about it, we go into protection mode. Our anger and acting out can put most people at bay and we don’t have to change. But when God approaches us, he does not back off. We can’t outrun, outargue, or lash out so much that God leaves us alone. He comes closer and closer no matter how difficult it is for us. When we can no longer bluster and tell God all the reasons, we are right to hold on to our sin, God begins to transform us. It is all about submission. He wants to change us, deal with our sin and brokenness, and open a better future for us. 

That is what happened with Jacob. Jacob was a broken, hurting man whose sin was catching up with him. His deception, manipulation, and thievery made him many enemies. At a certain point, he had one enemy behind him and another in front of him. Both wanted to kill him. Jacob was trying to figure out how to get out of this mess he had gotten himself into. The evening before he was going to meet his enemy – his brother Esau – a man came at him. They wrestled throughout the night. It was a back-and-forth struggle. Finally, when he was exhausted, he held the man down and asked for a blessing. Jacob needed grace to be set free. He needed someone to show mercy to him before he faced his brother. That is when the man touched Jacob’s hip, wrenching it out of its socket. Then the man gave Jacob a new name, Israel which means ‘struggle.’ Jacob had struggled with people and with God. It was only when he came to his end, exhausted all his energy, that the man who turned out to be God blessed him, changed him, and gave him an opportunity to face his brother from a position of submission. Jacob would walk with a limp every day of his life. It was a reminder that he was once a broken person who made enemies wherever he went. It was also a reminder that when he came to his end, when he was broken, when he finally submitted, that God made him into a new person. 

This story is our story. I encourage you to take time. Hold yourself in the presence of God no matter how uncomfortable it may be. It is only when you submit to the presence of God that you can be forgive and healed. God is in the business of transformation. Submit yourself to God and you will find the healing your spirit longs for. The inner turmoil does not have to last. The dawn will come. God’s grace will prevail.

Blessings,

Jonathan