The Wrestler

Jacob wrestling with God . . .
           seeing him face-to-face and yet prevailing . . .
                            not letting go until he's been blessed . . .

What's the message here?

Our Bible study group recently studied this story in Genesis 32.

I also read this story last February and had some interesting notes:

You too, are a God-Wrestler.  Game on.


Why?  What does that mean?


Israel means "God-wrestler" so God's people are God-wrestlers.


We have to wrestle with the stories, the questions, the meanings, the answers we get -- we wrestle with life, with our sinful natures, with the sinner we are and the saint we're called to be -- we wrestle with the commandments and our calling, our vocation, our relationships, our roles -- we are rarely still and quiet and content -- always wrestling something.  Were we created to wrestle?  or did that come later?  Is it good?  Is it sinful?  Is it the challenge?  Are we blessed through the wrestling?  Is this how we see God face to face?  Do we wrestle in our baptisms when we are renamed? (as Jacob was renamed during his wrestling with God).  Does God deliberately throw us out of joint?  Is our wrestling done alone?  or in community?  Is the wrestling our night?  When the dawn breaks is the wrestling over?  Does the dawn not come until the end of our lives?  Are we on the right path?  Are we supposed to change paths?  What does the wrestling lead to?  point to?

And the question comes:

Elizabeth, what are you wrestling with?

Recently it doesn't feel like I have an answer to that.  I don't feel like I'm wrestling at all.  Perhaps that's why, during our recent study of this text, I didn't get any big revelations.

But last February I had quite a list:

Why can't Joel and Melissa have a baby?  Why don't you just give them one?  Am I making a mistake working so hard when my children are so young?  Am I being the best mom for them?  Do I put other things/people in front of them too much?  What should I take away?  How can I plan things seven weekends in a row?  How can I jet off without them?  They are so little and won't be for long.  I should take them to gym and story time because soon that chance will be gone . . . but I'll always have the chance to lead a Bible study.  Why do we come from an ancient people who were incestuous, polygamist, lying, cheating people?  What's with this wrestling story anyway? 


Lord, I'm not letting go til' you bless me.

And God answers:

I already have.


We are blessed through our wrestling.

Again and again we are reminded that God blesses the ones who are unlikely to be blessed.

Including us.