Grappling With God - Jacob

This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn began to break. When the man saw that he would not win the match, he touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

Genesis 32:24-26

When did you last wrestle with God? Maybe it was when a relationship with a friend was damaged and you didn’t know how to fix it. Perhaps a loved one died, and you thought that God was unjust for taking that person from you. Maybe someone mistreated or misjudged you, and you wondered why God didn’t step in to correct the situation. You may have carefully applied biblical principles to your family life, only to watch a child sink into serious rebellion.

For most men, the idea of wrestling with God seems a little “out there.” Maybe it did to Jacob, too, just before he found himself in the ring with God.

With God? It certainly seems that way, for immediately after this incident, Jacob exclaimed, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been spared” (Genesis 32:30). Jacob grappled with God and lived to tell about it; he also received the blessing that he so desperately wanted.

God could have ended this struggle with a single word. In fact, this account tells us that with a simple touch, he dislocated Jacob’s hip. God allowed the wrestling match to go on for one reason: He wanted something from Jacob—and for Jacob!

When you wrestle with God over the important issues of your life, he has you right where he wants you. Sometimes, that is when you are most ready to receive a blessing.

Are you seeking answers or blessings from God? Are you willing to struggle persistently for them? Maybe God wants you to ask the tough questions so that you can find out more about yourself, about God, and about his plans and purposes for you. How will you know unless you willingly go to the mat?