Limping Through Life
The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. Jacob was left alone. A man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 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. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.”
But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
He said to him, “What is your name?”
And he said, “Jacob.”
Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have wrestled with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.”
But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?”
There he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Genesis 32:22-31
Insight
This encounter Jacob had with God is one of my favorite moments recorded in Scripture. A lot of us have wrestled with God. Some of us wrestled with God before we considered a relationship with Him. Others of us have wrestled even after spending years walking with God. I hope you know that it is completely okay to wrestle with God about life.
This season for me has been one of wrestling. My incredible wife is dealing with some health issues, we have an awesome newborn who tires us out, our finances are all over the place, and everything else going on with injustice in the world has me wrestling with God over and over.
But what I have learned is that wrestling with God is not a sign of lack of trust. When I wrestle with God, I am met with grace. That sounds pretty crazy, right? How could wrestling with God lead to an encounter with grace?
This is what Jacob ended up discovering in his wrestling. Jacob’s story was wild and crazy when he got to the place where he wrestled with God. Jacob was involved in lying, stealing, family drama, and so much more. Jacob found a way to steal his brother Esau’s family blessing from their father. Their father was blind, so Jacob tricked his father into giving him the blessing that was due Esau (Genesis 26-27). Jacob realized quickly that his shady move was wrong and damaged his relationship with his brother. Jacob fled and had been on the run for a good while, but now, there was about to be a family reunion.
Jacob was terrified at the idea of seeing his brother, and rightfully so! They did not part on good terms. The night before reuniting with Esau, Jacob found himself in a wrestling match. Jacob’s opponent was God, so talk about a fight. Jacob tried to go toe to toe with God and, not so surprising, he did not prevail. As a finishing move, God touched Jacob’s hip socket and knocked it out of place. But, Jacob still would not let go. Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (v. 26). God gave Jacob a blessing, but probably not what he expected: a new name. Jacob was given the new name Israel.
There was so much beauty in this moment for Jacob. His name was probably well-known, but not for good reasons. There is so much power in a name because every time someone hears it, they immediately have thoughts associated with it. For some of us, we might not like our name because of what we associate with it. For the man formerly known as Jacob, he was able to free himself from all association with that name in order to embrace the new name God had given him.
That same beauty is available for you and me today! Though we might not undergo the entire process of a name change, when we begin to walk with Jesus, He removes all association with our former self; in fact, you are a new creation altogether (2 Corinthians 5:17).
My favorite thought about this moment for Jacob was the fact that there is no evidence that he was healed after wrestling with God. You would think a loving God would have healed him after knocking his hip out. For me, I get the feeling that with every awkward step, Jacob did not think about the pain, but rather he thought about his encounter with grace.
Grace changes everything about us: the way we talk, think, love, and even walk. I hope we all see the beauty in wrestling with grace because we are never the same!
Reflection
Have you ever wrestled with God? What was your goal?
Consider that your wrestling is not just for an answer, but rather an encounter with grace.
Prayer
Father, thank you for grace and grace and even more grace. How undeserved I am for the endless grace You are willing to give to me. I thank You for making a way so that my past does not forever define me. You give me a new name and a new life in You. Let me find deeper trust and grace in my wrestling with You. I pray this all in Your holy name, Amen.
Port City writer Davy Nance wrote today’s devotional.
