Day 5) Genesis 32:24- “Left alone to wrestle with God”
“After he had sent them [wives and children] across the stream, he sent over
all his possessions. So Jacob was left
alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak…You name will be Israel
because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.” (Genesis 32:23,24,28)
Thoughts: When we are alone, we may mentally and
spiritually struggle with God and with others.
It is times of aloneness when it is easier to remove the “white noise”
and even the “good focuses” in order to have the greatest focus on God. In sickness or isolation, we will often
consider every scenario and outcome, but only God can change or soften what we
face.
There is no other god in history that
invites us to wrestle with Him. We may
ask “Am I at fault?” “Why is this happening to me?” “Why would God do/allow this?” “How does my faith interact with my
hurting?” But God does not want us to
think that life is just a series of chaotic and accidental events. But God has purposes in life and we can learn
through each event. Wrestling with God
is one way we learn and not just hide our head in the sand or deny that God
isn’t working with us in our heartache.
Wrestling with God is actually a step toward healing and
acceptance. James 1 tells us that it is
through wrestling in the trials of life that we become mature. Isaiah 40 gives us a promise that “He gives
strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Isaiah also reminds
us that we may not be able to understand what God is doing for “My ways are
higher than your ways.”
In this passage we see that it is
good to wrestle with God. After
wrestling with God, Israel changed his name from Jacob, and also the name of
the place was changed from Jabbock to Penuel (which means “the face of
God”). We get closer to God when we
wrestle with Him in our heartaches.
Prayer: Lord, as I wrestle with you, I also know that I
am dependent on you to give me strength to wrestle! In my alone time, come near me.
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