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NAKED FAITH

Former American Press staff writer Sunny Brown Farley writes "Naked Faith," a look at faith in its natural form: lived out in the day-to-day lives of ordinary people.

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Wreslin’ with God

Posted August 3, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Filed Under Faith & Religion | Leave a Comment

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When I was a kid, I lived down the street from my grandparents. One of the highlights of this proximity was that it allowed me to do one of my favorite things – spend the night with Granny and Grandad.

It was always the same. We’d eat a big dinner, play cards and then watch a little television and eat a bowl of ice cream.

Grandad always wanted to watch the same thing. He was all about wrestling! He called it “wraslin,” and no matter how many times we told him it was fake, he didn’t believe us.

I was reading this week about the story of Jacob wrestling with God. Certainly there was nothing phony about this encounter.

Jacob was the grandson of Abraham and Sarah. Abraham was the one who God made an amazing promise. In Gen. 12, God says to Abraham: “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (NIV)

Abraham’s son, born to Sarah, was Isaac. Isaac grew up and married Rebekah and they conceived twins. This is where the story of Jacob begins. Jacob’s life from the very beginning was one of turmoil. Even in the womb and in birth, he struggled with his brother Esau.

As we know, it was important to be the firstborn son in ancient Israel. The inheritance, the birthright and blessing belonged to the firstborn son. If you were born the second or third son, you were out of luck. Likewise, if you were born a girl you were out of luck, but at least girls had the hope of marrying a firstborn son.

Jacob was boy nNumber 2.

It is interesting to note that the name Jacob sound similar to a word in Hebrew that means heel and that in our story, when Jacob is born, he is holding on to his brother’s heel as if he tried to pull his brother back and be the first out of the womb.

The name Jacob means “supplanter” or one who takes the place of another and this is exactly what went on to happen in our story about Jacob. You see, through trickery and deceit, Jacob stole the birthright of his brother Esau. He took advantage of his brother’s weakness and tricked him into giving up his birthright. His twin vowed to kill him and Jacob left his homeland. Jacob later married and had children and became a successful rancher. It is just when things are going smoothly that God tells Jacob it sis time to go home.

Jacob obeys, and his problems start up again – his in-laws get cross with him over business dealings and hears that his brother Esau has learned of his return and has amassed four hundred men to meet him.

Things are looking bleak, and Jacob decides to send everyone and everything of his ahead of him on his journey.

I can imagine he was terrified. Last he knew, his brother wanted to kill him, and now his brother was waiting for him with four hundred of his buddies. After everyone went on without him, he was completely alone.

What happens when we are alone? We begin to think, don’t we?

Without all the distractions of our families, our kids, our spouses, our stuff, we are left with only our thoughts and sometimes our thoughts are troubling aren’t they?

I can imagine Jacob thought about his family situation – how he’d treated his brother and maybe how he just sent his wives and children ahead of him as a sot of shield between him and Esau. I imagine he wrestled with himself – perhaps with grief and regret and worry about the present and the future.

The scripture tells us he wrestled with God.

It also tells us Jacob would not let him go until he blessed him.

If you think about it, isn’t that what all of us want from God? We want God’s blessing. We want to be OK with God. We want to be good with God. We want peace with God.

After a long night of wrestling with God, God blessed Jacob.

God blessed Jacob, but after Jacob’s encounter with God, he was never the same. After Jacob wrestled with God, he walked away with a limp he would have for the rest of his life. He also got a name change. Jacob became “Israel.”

The promise to Abraham is fulfilled through Jacob. God says to Jacob:

“And God said to him, “I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” (NIV)

Through Jacob comes the nation of Israel. This is a name forever associated with the people of God. Jacob had twelve sons –the leaders of the 12 tribes of Israel – Levi, Judah, Dan, Nepthali and so on.

It is interesting to note that the word Israel means “struggles with God.” As the people of God we continue to struggle — to wrestle  — don’t we? Our lives are not simple and easy, but full of challenges, aren’t they?

As Christians we wrestle with ourselves, with others and with God just as Jacob did. We wrestle with the past, the present and the future.

Maybe tonight as we lay down to sleep, alone in our thoughts, we will begin to wrestle with something. Maybe we have regrets, worries, fears.

None of us is exempt from wrestling with stuff. I wonder what you are wrestling with today? Family matters, finances, sin, a call on your life?

Hear the good news:

As Christians we wrestle with God. When I say we wrestle with God, I don’t mean against God. As Christians, we wrestle with God. I mean that when we wrestle, God is with us.

God is in our midst as we struggle with everything we struggle with in life. In everything, we are in the very presence of a God who loves us and cares for us. God wants us to be good with Him. God wants to bless us just as God blessed Jacob. God wants us to recognize his presence in our lives and hold on to him, just as Jacob held on to God with all his might.

As we wrestle with God, that is to say alongside God, we need to be prepared for change.

We may not walk away from our struggles with a limp or a name change, but there will certainly be change.

Perhaps our circumstances will change or perhaps they won’t, but when we encounter God, we are, like Jacob, forever changed.

May we hold on tight and be blessed.

Amen.

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