Some may ask, "What is the meaning of Peniel? How can Jacob's Peniel be applied to us?" We can answer this way: You may have a stubborn disposition which has been dominating your life. This disposition has become the principle of your life and the lodging ground of your natural life. At ordinary times, you do not notice it. But God provides many opportunities in which this natural strength is exposed once, twice, ten times, or even a hundred times. Yet you are still unaware of it. One day, at the crossing at Jabbok, you will have exhausted your ability and the very seat of your natural life will be exposed. At that time, God's hand will touch you and show you where your natural strength lies. You will realize your most ugly, evil, and filthy disposition. What you have been boasting about, what you have gloried in and taken satisfaction in, and what you have considered excellent and superior are now under the shining of God's light and found to be nothing but the fleshly life, which is filthy, corrupted, and despicable. The light has killed you. This is the meaning of Peniel. God shows you that the very things that you once boasted in, considered admirable, were proud of, and that distinguished you from others are the very expressions of the fleshly life. When God touches your life in this way, you become weakened. This is the meaning of Peniel.
Your natural strength needs to be dealt with by the Lord. But before you see the light, you consider this strength as something precious and worthy of boasting. Brothers and sisters, you have to be careful with your boasting. The strength of the natural life is hidden within the boasts of many Christians. It is hard to find one Christian who does not have his natural life lurking behind his boasts. Therefore, you have to be particularly careful about your boasts. The things that you boast in are often the very things that God will deal with. Perhaps these very things are the hollow of your thigh. God will shine on you and touch the hollow of your thigh. When He touches this spot, you will become very ashamed and say, "How could I have made my greatest shame my glory?" All those who know a little about the experience of Peniel can testify that when God touches the hollow of their thigh, they are not only weakened but ashamed. They exclaim, "How could I have been so foolish? I thought that this and that were good. Actually they were all shameful things!" They feel that they are the most ugly person before the Lord. Brothers and sisters, once God touches you, you will see that everything you did before was ugly. You will wonder how you could have considered them your glory and your virtues, and how you could have considered others inferior to yourself! When this happens, God has touched you.
The name Peniel means "the face of God" in the original language. God's face is God's light. In the past, God touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh with His hand. Today He is touching our natural life with His light. Once we are enlightened by God's light, we will realize that the things we once considered to be good, glorious, and outstanding are but shameful and foolish things. This light will give us a mortal blow and deplete us of all strength.
Brothers and sisters, one day we will have to pass through Peniel. God must touch our natural life before we can become useful persons in His hand. The day will come when we will pass through such an experience. Of course, we cannot hasten its coming by being anxious. However, we can commit ourselves to the faithful Creator and pray that He will work things out in the environment and lead us to the realization that our boasts are just our shame and foolishness. May the Lord be merciful to us, and may He give us light so that His work may be fulfilled in us through the enlightening of Peniel—the face of God.