Wrestling with God

Research has shown that international wrestlers at the age of 20 have had, on average, 1,000 hours more practice than club-level wrestlers showing that deliberate practice and persistence brings great rewards. Jacob certainly persisted with the man he later acknowledged to be God.

In many ways God actually wants us to wrestle with Him. Wrestling is one of the most intimate of sports: grappling and grabbing, sweating and struggling, up close and personal. God would much rather we wrestle with Him when we do not understand life, when things go wrong, when people are attacking us, when we desperately need Him to bless us. Why? Because there’s only one winner when we wrestle with God. We are engaging with Him, not ignoring Him or running away and if we persist with Him, we will be blessed. His will and His plan will come into being.

Jacob was caught in between his brother and father-in-law; both of whom he had deceived and both wished him harm. In the end, Jacob did what all of us should do – recognize his sins, weaknesses, and failures – the very things that caused him to be in the mess to begin with. Jacob was left crippled and exhausted after wrestling with God all night. When Jacob realized he could not go on without God, he stopped struggling and it was then that he received God’s blessing. Life will not always be easy, but press on through keeping God close.