Genesis 33:20 “And he erected there an altar, and called it EleloheIsrael.”
The above passage of Scripture, is the account of Jacob (Israel) setting up an altar to his God. The word EleloheIsrael literally means “God, the God of Israel.” Jacob had promised the Lord, if he would bring him back to his family, that he would make the God of his father and grandfather his God.
Genesis 28:20-21 “And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:”
The Lord answered his prayer over 20 years later. Jacob was on his journey back home, when his brother Esau came to meet him. Jacob, expecting his brother to hold a grudge for his deceptive ways, was surprised when his brother came and hugged his neck. They had a joyful reunion, he returned in peace, and that is when Jacob made the God of his father, his God.
Have we come to the place where we have made the God of the Bible our God? We may have grown up in a Christian home, or at the least, been in church on most Sundays. We may have godly parents and grandparents that truly worshipped God, and saw Him work in their lives. Are we riding their coat tails so to speak? We know they had a real relationship with the Lord, and we believe in their God. But, is God real to us personally?
It took God revealing Himself to Jacob, and bringing him back home, for Jacob to make the Lord his God. It may be that we are looking to the God of our fathers and mothers and not to our God. Hopefully, we have all begun a relationship with God through His son Jesus Christ. That is the very first step in making the Lord our God. Jesus declared Himself to be the only way, truth and life. He said, that no one can come to the Father but by Him. Without believing on the Lord Jesus Christ, and His death, burial and resurrection, we cannot have a relationship with God.
However, after that initial and most critical step, we need to make Him our God! He desires to reveal Himself to us through His word. He will speak to us and give us direction through the written Word of God.
Luke 6:46 “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”
Maybe it’s just me, but it seems awfully hard to do the things the Lord says, if we don’t know what he is saying to us. It is vital for us to allow God to reveal His will to us through His word.
I also believe many Christians haven’t made the Lord their God, because they have never put Him to the test. We believe He is all powerful, and can answer prayers, yet we don’t believe He will answer our prayers. Steps of faith are for others and not us. The problem with that thinking is, that God will never become real to us. The Word of God seems like a story book and not relevant to our lives. That is why He remains someone else’s God.
Friend, have some faith today! Trust God for some big things. Read the Bible knowing that the God Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob served, is the same God we serve today! The God of Peter, Paul, and John is still working in hearts and lives in our time.
Your request may take 20 years to see come to pass, but that doesn’t mean you don’t ask, and that He won’t answer. Put God to the test. Stop living by someone else’s faith. Have faith in God!! Let’s make Him our God today.