Encouragement

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There is an ancient story in Genesis that, along with the rest of the Bible, has impact and significance for us today. It is the narrative of Jacob’s famous wrestling match with God in chapter 32, verses 22-32. I’m not a sports fan, and my version of wrestling in gym class consisted of immediately dropping to the ground when the coach blew his whistle to start the match. Humiliating? Yes, but painless.

Our story begins with Jacob preparing to meet his brother Esau, whom he had wronged years before. When he was alone at night, a “man” wrestled with him until dawn. Jacob prevailed over the man, who wrenched Jacob’s hip out of place, causing him to limp. The man blessed him, and changed his name from Jacob (“Deceiver”) to Israel (“He struggles with God”). We read that the man was God appearing in flesh, and that, because of Jacob’s injury, some Jews do not eat the area around the hip.

What an odd but instructive story! We can learn several things from Jacob’s encounter with God.

Jacob was met by angels (32:1, 2), who no doubt encouraged him as they had before. He then surveyed the situation and prepared for the worst. Jacob did not collapse in despair, but resorted to prayer, reminding God of His promises to him.

When Jacob was most fearful, God met him. Jacob was not alone. God came to him at night in his loneliest moment, in a most unexpected way. He didn’t come with arms outstretched for a big hug; He came with sleeves rolled up for a wrestling match! Ofttimes God will do that to increase our faith through strenuous exercise in prayer, especially in the darkest hours.

Jacob would not let go of God. He was known for being tenacious and prevailing with men, usually by deception. God knew that Jacob had to apply that same tenacity to his walk with Him, and that there were lessons to be learned as well.

God knows that we have a “tendoncy” to do things in our own strength. It is easy to become impatient and give up on prayer when we are afraid. We think God has abandoned us, so we take matters into our own hands. As is always the case, when we don’t do things God’s way, we do things the wrong way. Jacob saw this in his grandfather Abraham’s use of his maid to bring forth the promised son. God said that his wife Sarah would bear the child, but she became impatient (Genesis 16), and the result is the current conflict in the Middle East! Abraham (and the world) would have been better off if he had waited on God.

Jacob could have easily continued with his plan and gone on his way. He could have run from the “man.” However, he would have missed the trophies of the struggle. When the wrestling match was over, God left Jacob with two blessings: a limp and a label.

The “man” touched Jacob’s thigh and crippled him. Jacob would hereafter hobble on his leg and remember both the encounter with God and his inherent weakness. The man also changed his name from Deceiver to The Struggler With God. This victory left Jacob with a new character and a new appreciation for prayer.

Jacob struggled with men on his own terms, and used deceit to get his own way. He had no time for God before this epic, life-changing struggle. He thought he knew what was best for his life.

Jacob’s struggle with God was the result of his struggles with his brother Esau. He was experiencing the consequences of his choices years later, and now he knew he needed God’s blessing. However, that blessing did not come easily. Jacob had to show he meant business with God and wanted Him and His will.

Sometimes when we want our own way, we wrestle with God and lose. We try so hard to justify our decision that we walk away from the struggle and leave God behind. In doing so, we wind up with a limp that won’t go away. Following our own devices may cause us to hobble on pathways that take us from God’s best blessings. Our pain may often remind us of that brass ring we missed or that opportunity that we passed by. We smart from the lame choices we made.

Jacob was in a dark and scary place. He did not know what the outcome of his adventure would be. He did not mope around or stand still, undefended and defeated. He prepared as best he could, but also prevailed upon God in prayer based on His promises. God tested his spiritual strength in a long, hard struggle and, as a result, strengthened Jacob’s character and affirmed His Word. True, Jacob was given a reminder of how lame he was in his own strength, but he was set on the right path. It may seem painless at first to drop to the ground when the match starts, but the long-term results can be more significant than not eating the sciatic nerve—it can mean a crippled life.

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