So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. — Genesis 32:24
If ever Jacob needed a word of encouragement, now was the time. His brother Esau was coming to meet him with 400 men. That could mean only one thing, Jacob was in great danger. Everything he had worked for in the last twenty years could be gone in a few hours. His wives and his children could be taken from him, and he would be powerless to prevent it.
One day when my two boys were 8 and 11, they got into a fight. (One of many, of course.) There were angry words and tears and more angry words. I suppose I could have sat them down and said, "Now, boys, this is how you should be nice to each other." But, somehow, I didn’t think that would work.
So I told them both to come here, that I was going to beat some sense into them. (Now I didn’t actually beat them. I just wrestled with them a bit.) Then the three of us sat down on the couch – one on each side of me – and we looked at a book I got from the library on military aircraft. There we sat for fifteen minutes or so looking at Tomcats and Harriers and cargo planes. At first they were both pretty sullen, but it wasn’t long before all three of us got lost in figuring out how big these planes were, how fast they flew, what they carried and who flew them.
After fifteen (or was it twenty-five?) minutes, I looked at them and asked, "If I let you guys go, do you think you can figure out how to get along with each other?"
The younger one got up and hugged the older one. Then the older one stood up and hugged the younger one. Then they both walked back into their world.
I honestly don’t know if that’s good parenting or not. It just seemed like the right thing to do.
And here God meets with Jacob, but he doesn’t say a word. All He does is wrestle with him. What must have been going through Jacob’s mind? Everything Jacob had was on the line — his own survival was a major question mark. And now this.
Yet, at the end of the night, something changed. Jacob discovered something about God he could find out no other way. And God gave him a new name to show him that you can wrestle with God and with men and prevail.
Be encouraged!
Dwight
Dwight Clough is the author of four Christian books and is an active member of Lake City Church in Madison. This devotional is also available via email and you may review the archives back to 2002. To contact Dwight or Kim, use their contact form. You may also support their ministry.