Wrestling with God

https://odb.org/2023/12/19/the-meaning-of-a-scar

The story of Jacob wrestling with God in Genesis 32:22-32 was a breakthrough that changed Jacob from a cunning and conniving man (who tricked his father Isaac to give to him the blessings of his brother Esau) to one who prevailed in persistence. Jacob named the place he wrestled with God as Peniel because he saw God face to face, and his life was spared. God also renamed him Israel. It is from Jacob that the Israelites derived their name as a nation, that is, a person who struggled or wrestled with God and prevailed. In Genesis 32, Jacob refused to let the man go unless He blessed him, and that man (who was God in human form) blessed Jacob and changed his name to Israel.

I guess in the spiritual realm, there may be a need to wrestle or struggle with God before we get a breakthrough or a new name. The context, of course, is not to resist God or His calling until we get our way. The LORD doesn’t work like that because we always have a choice. In any situation with God, we could always walk away. It is also not our place to ask the Almighty “Great I Am” to follow us.

To me, to wrestle with God is to cling on and not let go of Him until He grants us His blessing, His grace, and anointing that we will indeed have a breakthrough. In response to His calling, we hold on to it until it is fulfilled. We have to be as persistent as Jacob and like Jacob, we may end up with a wound and a scar, but that’s a small sacrifice for the transformation we will experience in our spiritual life.

Be like Jacob. Be persistent with God. Follow Him and fulfil His plans and purposes for our lives. Do not wrestle with the LORD so that He follows our way. That is NOT the spiritual principle from Jacob’s encounter with the LORD!