Wrestling with God

God is at work in all the circumstances of your life to bring out the good for you. His work is not dependent upon your faith. But the comfort and joy that statement is intended to give you is dependent upon your believing it, upon your trusting in Him who is at work, even though you cannot see the outcome of that work.  Jerry Bridges

How many of us depend on ourselves for everything? Is there a time in your life that you come to the end of yourself and realize that God is all there is?  How many of us only turn to God when we have done everything we can think of to fix the issues in our life?

To many times I think we use God as a last resort.  When everything we do fails, then we turn to Him for guidance.  If we are going to be a force to be reckoned with for God when we step into the ring, we better have God first and foremost in our life.  God wants us to come to the end of ourselves so that we see only Him. We can’t do that if we are trying to solve everything without Him. 

It is interesting that in the story of Jacob wrestling with the Man, that the Man is the one who instigated the wrestling match, not Jacob. God wrestled with Jacob to bring him to a point of physical and spiritual submission.  God went to extremes to get Jacob’s attention.  This is a lesson that can teach us an important thing about God.  If we learn that in our weakness lies our strength, we will understand God’s amazing power.  The only way we will ever get God’s power and strength is to submit wholeheartedly to Him.

I think it would be better to submit first than to wrestle with God in a fight I can’t win.  If there is something you are struggling with, turn it over to God, pray to Him and wait for His response.  He knows what is best for you and it is all meant for our good.  Nothing God does is by chance.  Whatever struggle you have in your life trust God to take care of it and obey Him even if it doesn’t make sense to you.  It makes sense to God and that is all that matters.

 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, there are times in my life when I wrestle with you over struggles in my life.  All I have to do is go back to the story of Jacob in Genesis 32 to see that if Jacob didn’t win in a battle with You, why do I think I will.  Humble me so that I may see You as a loving God who knows and wants what is best for me.  

      

Scripture: Wrestling with God

And he arose that night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. He took them, sent them over the brook, and sent over what he had. Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. ²⁶ And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.”

But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” So He said to him, “What is your name?”

He said, “Jacob.”

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.”

Then Jacob asked, saying, “Tell me Your name, I pray.”

And He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.

So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” Genesis 32:22-30