Wrestling God Part 1: Locking Arms
Wrestling God: Locking arms
Genesis 32:24 Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.25 When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him.26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
Am I the only one who reads the bible and thinks; “what the heck?” I realize most everyone I know is more spiritual than I am, but still even those of you who are close to God will have to admit this is a weird story. Even stranger is the position Jacob finds himself in, locking arms with God almighty. A quick read can leave you thinking the aim of Jacobs grappling was to obtain a blessing but that’s not characteristic of the Jacob we read about in the previous chapters of Genesis.
Jacob isn’t out for a blessing, at first… He is out to push God away.
Who would push God away?
Who would resist God?
Who would???
Me.
Jacobs literal tangle provides an analogy for the struggle common to most all of us who believe in Christ. Jacob has made his own path for years; secured his fathers blessing on his own at the cost of his family, worked for his wives, and now as he strikes out in fear of an enemy he is forced to face the greatest sin of his life, resisting God’s work and calling.
Wrestling with God is the spiritual place we find ourselves when we a resisting what God is calling us to. So, it’s a weird story, I will give you that. Ask yourself one question; is it my story?
