Struggling with Grace

 

And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.” (Genesis 32:24-31 ESV).

 

The struggle within the life of grace of real; however, it is not unprecedented. It may be unique to the individual; however, it is not a singular event. It is common to all people. Our reading shows us the life of Jacob, on the eve of meeting his estranged brother Esau. He wrestled with a mysterious figure who was either God or an angel of God (cf. Hosea 12:4). For his efforts Jacob received a disjointed hip and a new name, Israel. This new name means “he struggles with God.”

 

Jacob’s descendants eventually became known as the nation of Israel, and they distinguished people from all other nations by calling them Gentiles. In Christ, however, all God’s people are “the Israel of God” (Galatians 6:16). Gentiles are now “heirs together with Israel” (Ephesians 3:6). And, we share the same characteristic with Jacob as we also struggle with God.

 

We should take heart in the midst of this struggle with grace. If for no other reason then for the commonality it gives us with every believer. Every God-believer is a God-struggler. Struggling with God is not a sign of unbelief or weak faith. It is a sign of honesty; perhaps it is even a sign of strong faith. Those who have no faith have no need to struggle with God. But all who have faith struggle with God, sometimes with great ferocity, other times with lesser intensity. Struggling with God shows that we take him seriously. It is God’s grace that allows us and even invites us to struggle with him. Struggling grace may even prompt us at times to quote the first Israel: “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” Don’t despair in your struggle. Use the flood of the emotional pain to act as an ocean to support you as you float along the surface in the power of the presence of Jesus who has secured your eternal life. Struggle… do not surrender! We already possess the victory in Him!