GENESIS 32

JACOB'S WRESTLING MATCH

Wrestling with God… mmmm… I don’t know anything about that (insert sarcasm here)!!! How often I take back control… or attempt to… and God has to hurt me a little before I stop wrestling with Him. Oh, how I wish that I understood God as Jacob did… even when God wounded him. He is wounded but still wrestles with God and then demands a blessing b/c he understands the character of his God. He trusts that the wound is out of love and that is evident by how he reacts. Instead of limping off to a dark corner, bitter and blaming God (like Jonah) he remains engaged with the Lord… not isolating himself. Instead of wallowing in pity for himself and his wound, his focus remains on the Lord and he upholds trust in His character to deliver blessing. Not exactly the reactions that I usually have when my wrestling match with the Lord turns sour… for my own good!

Another thing that stands out is God’s goodness… He always wrestles back. He could just teach me an abrupt lesson of His might & power and my weakness and smallness… but that’s not how He works b/c He truly loves me. He engages with me in my struggle… like we see with Jacob. He joins me in the wrestling match. He doesn’t stand off and aloof as so many tend to see God. And He doesn’t squash me like a worm like the rest of us tend to see God. He struggles WITH me… He’s right there… and while He never relinquishes His will for my stubbornness His pursuit is ALWAYS motivated by and rooted in Love.

Faithful are the wounds of a friend… how thankful I am that my God is not only my Provider, my Rock, my Deliverer, my Savior, my Father, my Lover, my Pursuer, and my Refuge… he is my FRIEND!