24So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. (Genesis 32)
In the past few years, I have talked with people that have something in common: they are in a season of wrestling with something. Some are explicitly in transition while others are just feeling all the effects of change around them. As a whole, we’re dealing with a lot. We’re working through all that we notice that’s broken, and all that we hope for going forward. I’m thinking of the new mom wrestling with the work of motherhood, the executive thinking about a professional change, about the small business owner wrestling with the gap between what their business looks like and what they wished it looked like, and the college student seeking direction and meaning as they prepare for a career ahead. I believe that wrestling is core to what it means to be human. And, that wrestling is often the breeding ground for God’s transformation. And for that, we need to recognize how holy the process of wrestling might be. When I think of wrestling, I can’t help but think of Jacob. Jacob is such a beautifully complex person. On the one hand, God calls him to a life of leadership before he’s even born. On the other hand, Jacob lives a life of conflict, especially with his brother. In a way, Jacob’s entire story seems to be marked by wrestling, a theme that comes into focus when he literally wrestles a stranger in the middle of the night (Genesis 32). There are many theories on who that stranger might be. Just before daylight, Jacob seems to have the upper hand on the stranger and literally demands a blessing in order to let his sparring partner free (again, Jacob is a beautifully complicated human being). But the stranger does not bless him – at least not in the way Jacob might have been hoping for. Instead, the stranger gives Jacob a new name. No longer will he be called Jacob, which means “trickster.” His new name is Israel, which means “God rules or preserves.” God’s presence in the holy wrestling transforms Jacob’s identity and quite literally how he walks through the world. His assurance on the way forward is that God is with him, naming him and calling him into the future. We too can expect that holy wrestling might transform us. It might change how we think about our work or our ministry, or even how we understand God. What we learn in seasons of wrestling will likely change how we “walk” through the world as followers of Jesus and workers and friends. For in wrestling, just like with Jacob, God names us and calls us and promises to be with us on the road forward. We are changed by God’s with-ness. I wonder what you’re wrestling with, whether it is at home, at work or in your neighborhood, or somewhere else. We’re usually always wrestling with something. Maybe you’re having a hard time with a colleague or trying to encourage a spouse in their own walk. Maybe you’re wrestling with how to start something new just, or worried about your kids. Whatever it is, what if you saw it as an opportunity to focus on how God might be forming you, and transforming you for the way forward? Oh God, my Gracious Father, meet me in my own wrestling, help me to know what it is I need to let go of and how I might emerge from this season more dependent on Your direction and guidance. For Your glory! Amen. Comments are closed.
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