He Still Calls You Jacob
A prophetic word for the one who
failed, ran, wrestled, and forgot who they were
When
Grace Speaks Your Name Before You’re Ready
This is a word for the one who feels
unworthy to be called,
for the one who wore a mask to get a blessing,
for the one who ran instead of repented,
for the one who is still Jacob.
You’ve deceived.
You’ve been deceived.
You’ve run.
You’ve wrestled.
And maybe you've stopped believing there's anything left of the dream God once
gave you.
But heaven hasn't gone silent.
Even now, in the wilderness, in the
delay, in the disappointment,
He still calls you Jacob.
Not to condemn you—
But to tell you: this is where grace begins.
1.
He Met You Long Before You Changed
“I am the Lord, the God of your
father Abraham and the God of Isaac… I am with you and will watch over you
wherever you go.”
—Genesis 28:13–15
Jacob was running from the
consequences of his deception.
He stole a blessing, deceived his father, broke his brother’s heart, and fled
into the wilderness with nothing but a walking stick and shame.
And yet—God met him there.
Not with judgment, but with a vision. A ladder stretching from earth to heaven.
Angels ascending and descending. A covenant reaffirmed.
He didn’t earn it.
He didn’t deserve it.
But God still came.
God doesn't wait for you to become
Israel to give you a glimpse of heaven.
He meets you as Jacob—because that's who you are when you need grace the most.
2.
The God Who Pursues Deceivers and the Deceived
Jacob wasn’t just a deceiver—he was
also deceived.
Laban tricked him into marrying
Leah.
He worked seven more years for the wife he loved.
He was mistreated, manipulated, and used.
Sometimes you’re Jacob because of
what you did.
And sometimes you’re Jacob because of what was done to you.
You ran from what you did.
But you also carry the sting of what others did to you.
And God sees both kinds of brokenness.
He still calls you.
Not just to correct you, but to heal you.
3.
He Wrestles With You, Not Against You
“So Jacob was left alone, and a man
wrestled with him till daybreak… Then the man said, ‘Let me go, for it is
daybreak.’ But Jacob replied, ‘I will not let You go unless You bless me.’”
—Genesis 32:24–26
Jacob had spent his life grasping
for blessings—manipulating, striving, pretending.
But this time, in the dark, he
wrestles for a real one.
God doesn’t strike him down.
He doesn’t walk away.
He stays—and wrestles.
This is grace in its rawest form:
A holy struggle. A painful mercy.
God won’t let you go—until something in you breaks and something new is born.
4.
The Name Must Change, But the Love Never Did
“Your name will no longer be Jacob,
but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have
overcome.”
—Genesis 32:28
Jacob walks away limping.
But he’s no longer the man who ran.
God gives him a new name—not because
God suddenly loves him more, but because Jacob is finally ready to stop
striving and start surrendering.
Some of us want the name change
without the wrestle.
We want the transformation without the tearful night.
But grace doesn’t just forgive—it renames.
He still calls you Jacob, not to
keep you in the past—
But because He’s inviting you into your next.
5.
Mercy Is Waiting Where You Expected Judgment
“But Esau ran to meet Jacob and
embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept.”
—Genesis 33:4
Jacob expected to be killed.
Instead, he was hugged.
Sometimes the places we fear the
most are the very places where God has gone before us.
That apology you fear.
That homecoming you dread.
That conversation you’ve avoided.
God is preparing Esau’s heart,
even while He’s transforming yours.
6.
You’re Still Part of the Story
God would later say: “I am the
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
Not just Abraham and Israel.
Jacob—the deceiver, the runner, the wrestler—remains part of the
covenant line.
Why?
Because God doesn’t erase your past.
He redeems it.
He uses even your failures to tell a greater story.
So if you’re still in the middle of
the mess—
Still feeling like Jacob—
Still trying to figure out who you are and whether God is still calling—
This is your word:
He still calls you. He hasn’t changed His mind.
Reflection
and Invitation
- Are you running from a mistake you made—or from one
made against you?
- Have you ever believed God only calls the “Israel”
version of you?
- What would it mean to let God wrestle you in the
dark—and rename you?
You don’t have to clean yourself up
before coming.
He still calls you Jacob—because that’s where grace begins.
Prayer
Father, thank You that You see
me—even when I’m still Jacob. Even when I’ve lied, pretended, failed, or run.
Thank You that You met me in the wilderness, not with wrath but with a promise.
I confess my striving, my masks, my fear. I don’t want to be the person who
manipulates to be blessed. I want to be the one who is changed by Your
presence. Wrestle with me, Lord, until I walk differently. I receive Your
mercy. I wait for Your new name. And even now, I thank You—because You still
call me. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Closing
Whisper
You met me as Jacob, not Israel.
You chased me down before I stopped running.
You whispered my name before I was ready.
You wrestled me into surrender.
You changed what I could never fix.
And still—you call me.
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