We Wrestle

Jacob Wrestles with God
"And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel [meaning, 'he strives with God'], for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [meaning, 'the face of God'], saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. "
Genesis 32:24-31

Jacob wrestled with God, grappling with Him, striving to keep his life. And somehow he prevailed, but not without a remembrance of it. For the rest of his life, Jacob, now named Israel from this encounter, was left crippled. But he was not utterly destroyed. Why not? One might think that to wrestle with God would ultimately mean suicide. Instead, Jacob was rewarded with the honor of being named by God himself a greater name than he once possessed. It is a name that would be remembered throughout the generations and even until today.

There is a difference between wrestling with God and wrestling against God. Jacob was wounded, but not destroyed. Later on in the book of Exodus, Pharoah and the Egyptians were humiliated, wounded, and finally blotted out from the earth. Jacob's heart was one that was soft and intended to be obedient to the voice and leadership of God. Pharoah's heart was continually hard and insisted on rebelling against the authority of God. One man's legacy reaches deep into the faithfulness of God and leaves an inheritance that lasts for all time. The other man's legacy reaches deep into the faithlessness of man and leaves only an example not to follow.

As I continuously evaluate my life in view of the Word of God, I hope and pray for three things in regards to the story of Jacob's wrestling. First, I can only hope for God to intervene in my life so that I may be found in a place that I am somehow striving to be more like Him and not merely standing around breathing to death. Second, when certainly does God come with His intervention, although I may wrestle with Him as Jacob did, I would receive a better name and a lasting legacy that credits Jesus for anything good flowing from me. And lastly, but perhaps the most important, I hope that I will not ever wrestle against God as He intervenes through the Holy Spirit, thereby imitating the suicide of Pharoah.

As of this moment, I wrestle. I am back from Africa and beloved Morocco, away from many people that I had grown to love in my two years there. I know that I long to be back in Africa, yet I am here in the US for a season. Much of me wants to wrestle against God and His intervening leadership in my life. I want to rebel against the Holy Spirit and disobey His perfectly wise plan for me right now. But I must not wrestle against Him. He will, however, allow me to wrestle with Him and still grant me the grace to persevere. And so I ask for a spirit of wisdom and revelation (Ephesians 1:17) that I may remain content (Philippians 4:11) in whatever situation I find myself. It is there that I will encounter the Living God and receive a legacy that lasts throughout the ages.