Let's Get Ready to Rumble Part 1

So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." The man asked him, "What is your name?" "Jacob," he answered. Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome." Genesis 32:24-28 (NIV)

For the record, I am not a WWF fan or novice. I have never liked anything about it except one thing-the announcer starting off the evening with the proclamation, "Let's Get Ready to Rumble!!" Even though the wrestling matches leave much to be desired, you knew from that announcement something big was about to happen. The same can be said of one of the most popular wrestling matches of all time. I have heard pastors preach about the tenacity of Jacob desiring the blessing of God. What about the 'opponent's' point of view? What was God's intention for the match of a lifetime?

Let's start with the pretext of this story. Jacob had left Laban in a tense departure due to some under-handed dealings by Laban (see Genesis 31). As Jacob and his family left, they were heading toward his brother, Esau's territory. Terrified that Esau was coming to make good on his threat to kill him, Jacob cried out to the Lord to save him. He reminded God but you have said, "I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand in the sea, which cannot be counted" (Genesis 32:12 NIV). The match began. God and Jacob in the throes of the night, one trying to pin the other; both are strong opponents. It almost seems nonsensical that God would initiate this wrestling in the most stressful, life-threatening time for Jacob.

Nevertheless, it was necessary for this to happen, but not for the obvious reason of Jacob being saved from imminent death and destruction. This was about God answering Jacob's prayer and following through to see that nothing would stand in the way of His Covenant promise. Let me bring this to your house. Are you in the beginning phase of a wrestling match with God? Has He been initiating this match to see what He has promised come to fruition? Have you been hesitating because you don't know what is on the other side of the wrestling match or even in the midst of it?

Holy Father, I thank you that you are a tenacious God who is deserving of all my praise. Help me Lord to understand that You desire the best for me and that you desire for me to be the best Me. Help me to remember that Your thoughts are not my thoughts and that my ways are not Your ways. So, I yield myself to You. Amen.

Tammy Miller