Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Genesis 32:26 "I will not let you go unless you bless me!"
JACOB: THE WRESTLER
Little boys love to wrestle their fathers. The youngsters go all out, throwing elbows and knees, doing their best to defeat their much larger combatant. Dad, for his part, maneuvers to win, but without hurting his beloved little warriors. Mom may not approve the rowdy play, but fathers and sons know that it's just their way of showing their love for each other.
Genesis chapter 32 tells how the patriarch Jacob wrestled with God in human form. It was a love match, in which God wanted to strengthen Jacob's spiritual muscles. And Jacob needed strengthening. Jacob was a believer in the true God, looking forward to the promised Savior, but his faith was often weak. Instead of trusting in God's promises, Jacob often placed his confidence in his own plots and schemes.
As the two fought through the long night, the LORD touched Jacob's hip socket, throwing it out of joint. God wanted to see if Jacob would give up. Would Jacob limp away the same man he was before? Would he continue to live his life by his own puny plans and devices? Or would he learn to live life by clinging to God for mercy and all help? God's loving purposes for Jacob were accomplished, as Jacob cries out: "I will not let You [the LORD] go unless You bless me!" Jacob was learning to hold to his God and Savior alone for everything he needed.
At times God's child finds himself in a long, hard, struggle with God. In a life filled with troubles and tears, we "fight" with Him to bless us. It's then that we remember that God is not out to hurt us. He wants to toughen up our faith so that we won't ever let Him go! He wants us to trust in Him alone to deal with our sins, to take care of our problems, and to see us safely from this life into the next.
