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Wrestling With God

Mon, Mar 30, 2009
Course Specific Materials

Friend, I have never boxed, nor do I have any desire to, because I want to keep the few brain cells I have; but I have often fought with the Lord in a spiritual boxing match as I pleaded with Him for freedom when I was in my chains.

Recently the story of Jacob "wrestling with the angel of the Lord" on his way to appease Esau came to mind and I spent the day and much of the night pondering it. The Bible says:

²⁴ And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. ²⁵ 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. ²⁶ Then he said, "Let me go, for the day has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." Genesis 32:24-26 (ESV)

A number of commentaries say this Man was not an angel, but the Lord Himself and the Greek word for `touched' carries with it the definition of violently striking or smiting something. They wrestled for many hours but such was the tenacity of nearly 100-year-old Jacob, that even when a "submission hold" was thrown on him and he had a dislocated hip, he refused to let go. I have had a dislocated shoulder and know how staggeringly overwhelming that pain is, yet Jacob gritted his teeth, held on through the pain as they continued to thrash around and said "No; I will not let you go without a blessing!"

²⁷ And he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." ²⁸ Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." Genesis 32:27-28 (ESV)

Jacob means "heel-catcher" or "deceiver," but because of his holding on and persisting in the battle, he walked away with a new identity. "Israel" means "God's fighter," or "he who struggles with God." To me, this is an amazing account of someone who refuses to quit or give up no matter the strain, cost, or pain.

One other thing I want to point out is that Jacob "wrestled" with God in prayer before physically wrestling with the Man. He reminded God of the promise He gave Him in Genesis 28:13-15 which is where the well-known account of "Jacob's Ladder" is recorded.

⁹ And Jacob said, "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me, 'Return to your country and to your kindred, that I may do you good,' ¹⁰ I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant, for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. ¹¹ Please deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I fear him, that he may come and attack me, the mothers with the children. ¹² But you said, 'I will surely do you good, and make your offspring as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.' " Genesis 32:9-12 (ESV)

Do you see what he is doing? He is speaking God's promises back to Him! Jacob is facing potential annihilation from his brother Esau, but he cries out to God and says "I am trusting You to save me because You said you would, God!'"

Dear one, are you a Jacob? Are you holding on to the promises of God and "wrestling" with Him in prayer? Will you hold on to Him through the dark night until the morning, no matter the effort and regardless of the pain or cost? Can you echo the words: "God, I am facing destruction of my very soul because of my sins, and I ask that you bring to completion that which you have begun in me!"

Oh friend, Go to the foot of the cross, chain yourself to it and make it your home. Lean against those rough timbers and remember the weight of them crushing the Lamb's back as He walked to Calvary as the Scapegoat for our sins. Eat there, live there, and die there if need be, but never deny the Lord or turn aside from the cross.

And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. Genesis 32:24 (ESV)

One last but very important thing I want to point out is that Jacob was alone (no one else to turn to) and it was then that the Lord came to Jacob. Jacob did not go to Him, but He came to Jacob. This is an important point to make, because without understanding this we can easily fall into the trap of thinking that we are saved through our own strength, or our own "choosing" to cling to Jesus. There is a balance we have to maintain between understanding that we are to persevere and "work out your salvation" while also embracing the truth of how we are preserved in Christ and it is He who comes to us as the Shepherd who is looking for His lost sheep when we have gone astray.

²⁵ Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. ²⁷ My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one." John 10:25-30 (ESV)

I thank the Man who touched me, hurt me, blessed me and freed me. Anybody who has been severely injured knows that the bones and joints never go back to working quite the same way they once did, and I praise Him for the limp I have, for it is a reminder to me of the dark night that I wrestled with my Lord when I was all alone.

Limping onward toward home,

Shon Bruellman