Posted: Fri Jun 12, 2009 3:23 am Post subject: wrestling with God?
Genesis 32:22-28 (King James Version)
22And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.
23And he took them, and sent them over the brook, and sent over that he had.
24And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.
25And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him.
26And he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou bless me.
27And he said unto him, What is thy name? And he said, Jacob.
28And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed.
Would you explain this account? _________________ YHWH is my God and Jesus is my Lord
Imagine, you've had a hard time of life. Tensions at home became such that you had to leave. You leave with virtually nothing. You find a place to stay with relatives and fall in love but her father forces you first to serve 7 years for her only to put her sister in her place. You continue to serve 20 years in all and your wages are continually changed.
You decide its time to take your family and strike out on your own only to have your father-in-law track you down and accuse you of stealing from him. Then you hear that the very person who caused you to have to flee your father's and mother's home was coming to call with 400 men. You position your flocks and those with you in such a way as to make it possible for some to escape or be saved.
Okay...now with all that behind you and you're all alone your children and wives and your gifts off to meet your brother who may still hate you....what happens?
A man comes and starts to grapple with you. Okay...fine that happens. But wait a minute this isn't just any man this is an angel of God that has you on the ground fighting with you. Okay, so let's get the picture straight here. You've had a time of it, in life that is, but you kept going against the odds stacked against you knowing that God was helping you to get through those hard times. But as if all that was not enough God now sends his angel to fight with you, man to man?
Hmmm...okay. Well, we could get a little upset with God over this. We could say to God, "Father my life has not been all peaches and cream you know...I had a rough time all my life. Why are you making it harder for me?" Fortunately, though, God's angel does not give you time to think too much about the whole thing...you're in a fight and you best better put all your muscle into it. So you do and at the end of it not only do you win but you also receive a blessing...you perservered against men and even God and came out the winner.
Jesus on the night before his death asked his Father to take away the cup because all things are possible with God. But his Father did not and Jesus drank it. Trials are not pleasant and our Father allows them to come upon us for good reason-- they refine, they strengthen, they cause humility to spring up within us, they make us more like our Father who has had to endure so much and yet he keeps loving and working.
Have we had an angel grapple with us? Maybe not physically but spiritually when we have had to grapple with our own weaknesses, our rafters in our eyes, our brothers who may not always act lovingly towards us, our family members who may at times act wrongfully and so on. Sometimes our greatest spiritual enemy is just ourselves and at times it does feel like we are grappling all night long with our own inner thoughts, our doubts, our hurts, our searchings for our Father in prayer. But the morning does come and it will come! And with it the Son of God who will proclaim to us his love and his Father's love.
Thanks be to God our Father who loves us and who tenderly yet forcefully teaches us and causes us to be a little more like his beloved Son, Jesus.
1997 _________________ YHWH is my God and Jesus is my Lord
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
