wrestling with god
“So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until morning.” – Genesis 32:24
Everything Jacob had lived through was coming to one event – ​​his reunion with Esau. More than 20 years had passed since Jacob had taken away his father’s blessing from his brother Esau. During these years God was changing Jacob from a controller and manipulator to a man who was learning to trust God. He was now ready to meet Esau. However, he feared that Esau might take revenge on him and his family for his past sin, so he sent a gift ahead, while he retreated and asked God for mercy.
As soon as an angel appeared to Jacob, he realized that his only hope was in God. Only if God blesses him will he be able to survive this test. In the past, Jacob might have tried to solve his problem in his own way. Now, he only wanted God’s way. He wanted her so badly that he wouldn’t let the angel go. He was trying with God, but it was the right kind of trying. Jacob was trying to get God’s full blessing on his life. He was searching for God with everything he had. “When the man saw that he could not overcome him, he touched Jacob’s hip bone, causing his hip to buckle while he wrestled with the man” (Gen. 32:25). The only way to overcome this man’s strong will was to immobilize him physically. The angel touched Jacob’s hip bone. it was painful; It broke him. This was the final step in removing the old nature from Jacob. It was a place of complete breakdown and surrender. Jacob will no longer be able to walk on his own strength. Now he has to take the support of a cane, which merely symbolizes his dependence on God.
This was God’s final act in Jacob’s life which was celebrated with a new name – Israel. He will no longer strive with God or man. The process was now complete. May God bless this man abundantly now. He showed favor to Esau and restored their broken relationship.
What does God have to do in our lives to remove the controlling and manipulative nature that is often part of the believer’s life in the workplace? Perhaps this will require a time of immobility, job loss, loss of income, loss of health, loss of close relationships. These are their methods of preparation. Your new nature will not be complete until you stop striving with God by your own efforts. If God is walking you through this process, be encouraged; This is because of the inheritance he has prepared for you. However, the inheritance can only be received when God brings us into complete dependence on Him.
