Some of us find it very easy to relate to Jacob. He was a man with obvious weaknesses of character, yet, he clearly loved the Lord. Even after some dramatic encounters with God, we find him falling back under pressure to old, ungodly habits. But Jacob gives us hope because, in spite of his failures, God didn't give up on him. He promised to transform him into a new man (Ge 32:28) and then kept working on him for the rest of his life until by his later years he truly became the spiritual man God intended. What's so comforting to us is that the changes in him weren't the result of getting his "act together," but of God patiently working on him. In this way, Jacob models how God still deals with people. Many of us continue to struggle with areas of weak character long after becoming Christians. Our heartfelt promises to get ourselves under control have failed so often we've stopped making such promises. Yet, frustrated lives that fail to change probably result more from our misguided attempts to change, than from lack of desire. Today we'll look at an event in Jacob's life and reflect on how God changes us.

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