“’What is your name?’ the man asked. He replied, ‘Jacob.’” (Genesis 32:27 NLT)

God allows a  crisis to get our attention, and then he uses the crisis to develop our  character. One thing that signals we’re changing is when we confess that we are  the problem. We stop blaming other people, and we admit, “I am the problem with  my life.” Until you understand this, there can be no major change in your life.  This is the breakthrough God knows we need.

God asked Jacob,  “What is your name?” This is a very strange request, because God obviously  already knew Jacob’s name. We need to understand that, in ancient cultures, you  were always named for your character — what you really were. Your name might be  Tall or Short; or your name might be Brave or Lazy. You were given a name that  labeled you. It wasn’t just something that sounded nice; it represented your  character.

That’s a problem,  because “Jacob” means “deceiver, manipulator, liar.” And Jacob lived up to his  name! When Jacob says, “My name is Jacob,” it is an act of confession. He’s  admitting, “I am a manipulator.”

Here’s the  insight into this: We will never be able to change until we openly and honestly  and authentically admit our sin, our weakness, our fault, our frailty, our  character defects, confessing this to ourselves, to God, and to other people.

Talk About It

What do you think  you need to admit about yourself?

To  whom do you need to admit a sin or weakness?

Rick Warren is  the founding pastor of Saddleback  Church in  Lake Forest, Calif., one of America's largest and most influential churches.  Rick is author of the New York Times bestseller "The Purpose Driven Life." His  book, "The Purpose Driven Church,"  was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the 20th century. He is  also the founder of Pastors.com,  a global Internet community for pastors.