Read Genesis 32:24-26 – 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. And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!” (NKJV)
Jacob is wrestling with a lot. His recent departure from Laban’s house, his lack of an established home for his large family and flocks and the soon arrival of a brother he hasn’t seen since he cheated him of his birthright decades earlier. Now the story shifts to a life-changing encounter with the “Angel of the Lord.” One wonders at what point Jacob realizes the identity of his wrestling opponent. We rightly assume that this story involved an actual physical encounter as Jacob left the experience with an actual limp, but what Jacob is wrestling with is so much more than a physical confrontation. Jacob’s past is about to be pinned to the ground, allowing him to rise into a new future on this transformative night. We don’t know how this fight began, but its end is extraordinary. Jacob is changed as He wrestles with God. When we are ready to truly confront ourselves, God joins the moment in a similar manner. He lets us wrestle with Him until we find we must let go of what we’ve previously held onto. He lets us wrestle with Him until we realize we are really in a battle with ourselves, and then…we limp away victorious.
– Dr. Mike Clarensau serves as Senior Director of the Healthy Church Network of the Assemblies of God.
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