“Then the man said, “Your name will no more be called Jacob, but Israel. For you have fought with God and with men, and have prevailed” (Gen. 32:28).
You don’t have to stay the same. In conversion, we’re given a new identity. Look at Jacob in the book of Genesis. Once Jacob confesses his manipulative behavior, God gives him a new identity.
Notice that three things happen:
God gives Jacob a brand-new identity (Gen. 32:28). Essentially, God says, “I know you’ve blown it. I know you’re conniving, but I see in you a prince. Beneath all your emotional hang-ups, all your insecurities, all the stuff you don’t want anybody else to know, I see a prince.” God is saying that today to you: “Beneath all of your sins and hang-ups, I see a princess/prince. You can be something great. You can be what I made you to be.”
God blesses Jacob/Israel (Gen. 32:29). Deep down, we desperately want God’s blessing. If we want God’s blessing, we have to take the steps God requires of us.
God gave Jacob/Israel a limp (Gen. 32:31). Remember, when they wrestled, God dislocated Jacob’s hip. Jacob walked away with a limp, and it served as a daily reminder to depend upon God.
God does his deepest work in your life when he deals with your identity—who you are and the way you see yourself. You will always tend to act according to the way you think about yourself. So God does His deepest changes in your life by changing the way you see yourself.
He says, “Let me show you how I see you.” When you see yourself the way God sees you, it’s going to change your life.
Curt Landry 
Michael L. Brown 
Rabbi Eric Tokajer 
