The opponent eventually said to Jacob, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!”
Let’s take a step back and imagine what Jacob is feeling right now.
He’s wrestling a man with the power to dislocate his hip with a push, so he knows he can probably do much worse if he wanted to. This man could probably kill him at any point. But he hasn’t. Why? Jacob just does not know, so it must be frustrating.
Take a walk with me.
Let’s assume he even gets past this man; he still has Esau and his army of 400 waiting for him the next day. Don’t forget, he’s injured. If there was even a tiny bit of hope that he would survive against that army, it is surely gone now. It really isn’t looking good for him. And he knows this.
Jacob knew that the only way he was going to get what he wanted this time was for God to give it to him. If his blessing were to be fulfilled, it would be God, and God alone, who would do it.
This WWE fight is so key.
We as Christians constantly fail to make that connection between our pain and God’s purposes (yes, plural). We need to realize that there is often more going on than just having a bad day or working with that annoying person. That agonising situation, yeah, God is using that to shape our character so that we will be strong enough to handle the blessing when He gives it.
Don’t laugh yeah, but I see it like Avengers Endgame.
-Oh no. What are you talking about?-
We saw multiple people wield the infinity gauntlet and saw the effect it had on all of them. Some were more equipped than others to use it, but mentally were incapable, and so didn’t even get the chance. Whereas one may have been more willing, but that wasn’t enough to escape the consequence of receiving such power.
-Was that vague enough to avoid spoiling things?-
Well, the fact that I have to be careful about spoilers while writing this is in 2020 is ridiculous. What have you been doing? Go watch the movie…after finishing this.
God wants to make sure that what He gives us will not harm us nor be wasted on weak faith.
Jacob had already been blessed. He just hadn’t fully experienced it. The cheque has been written and signed in his name. He just couldn’t cash it in. Thousands of blessings are promised to us in the Bible. But oftentimes, God will not bring the blessing into our experience until out character has been made ready to receive it.
So, in the same way as Jacob, God sometimes has to get us to wrestle with him.
-Wait, what?-
When issues arise it’s easy to wrestle with others. We blame people. We whine. We complain. Instead of us to go straight to God to discover the root of our problems, we decide to wrestle with others. This isn’t to say God is the root of our problems, but rather to say that God is the only one who can give us the answers which lie at the root of our problems.
-Ah I get you, but what happened to Jacob? He just got his hip dislocated right?-
Okay, this may sound weird. In the middle of this fight, the man decided to ask Jacob for his name. During these times, your name reflected who you were as a person. A name was never just a name. A name carried your identity, character and purpose. And so, he stated his name, “Jacob.”
28 And He said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.”
Jacob’s name would no longer be “trickster” or “deceiver”. Jacob was to be called Israel because he struggled with God and with men, yet he had the character, strength and faith to overcome. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen someone be renamed after coming to God. Remember Saul.
The problem with so many of us is that we’re living under the wrong name. No Reginald, I’m not talking about your name given at birth. I am talking about the names people push on you as you grow up.
“Liar” “Immature” “Insecure” “Shy” “Unreliable” “Deceiver” “Aggressive” “Idiot” .
Take another step with me.
Some of you have been given good names, that aren’t even for you. I can call you “Apostle” or “Preacher” all day, but that does not mean it is God’s purpose for you. You know what is just as bad as not fulfilling your purpose? Trying to fulfil someone else’s!
Jog back with me.
You know what’s crazy about all of this. This man who was wrestling Jacob and pinning him down in the physical, was actually God lifting him up in the spiritual. If we walk by what we see, we’ll constantly feel under attack and undermined by life. But if we change our perspective. And if we can learn to walk by faith, we’ll discover that these things that are falling down all around us are simply just making a foundation for when we are blessed and ready to build.
How many injuries have been sustained on the path to athletic greatness?
Embrace the pain! And let it mould you into what you need to be for the next step!
My Sunday Skl 