WHO DARES TO WIN?
Opening Prayer
Father God, it is truly in You I live and move, and have my being. Thank You and use me today for Your purposes.
Read GENESIS 32:22–32
Jacob Wrestles With God
22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 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. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
27 The man asked him, “What is your name?”
“Jacob,” he answered.
28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,[a] because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”
But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.
30 So Jacob called the place Peniel,[b] saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”
31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,[c] and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.
Footnotes
- Genesis 32:28 Israel probably means he struggles with God.
- Genesis 32:30 Peniel means face of God.
- Genesis 32:31 Hebrew Penuel, a variant of Peniel
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
Do you want the Lord to bless you? What do you want Him to do for you and why is that so important to you? Turn your reflections into prayer.
Think Further
For those of a certain age in the UK, the mention of wrestling recalls Saturday afternoon bouts broadcast on television. Two combatants would pit themselves against each other, looking for two submissions or a knockout for victory. They were choreographed events, sometimes involving a masked, mystery contestant. Almost certainly the winner was fixed prior to the fight!
Jacob’s wrestling match is no stage-managed entertainment. There are huge issues at stake for him personally and, through him, for all our destinies. It is a tight contest, in which Jacob’s opponent’s identity is obscure. The battle goes on throughout the night and even when Jacob is severely and permanently injured, he holds on tight, unwilling to give up; ‘all he could do was cling to his opponent for support’.1 At that point, as the identity of the mysterious man begins to become clear, he seeks a blessing. He knows he needs this above all else and, despite the pain and discomfort, he will struggle for it. Blessings are generally given by the greater to the lesser and Jacob recognizes his inferiority and his desperate need for God’s blessing on his life. God has brought him at last to a place of dependence. He receives a new name to signal his new identity. Now he is ready to play his part in the future of Israel, the people of God. Our experiences may not approach this level of drama, but similar principles apply. God needs to bring us to a place where desire for Him eclipses every other; where we long for His work in our lives, knowing there is no one else and nowhere else to turn. We seek His blessing, not for a cosseted life but to prioritize His kingdom, with the prospect of seeing Jesus face-to-face and finally being made like Him.2
Apply
‘As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, my God.’3 Use this prayer, saying it slowly, several times.
Closing prayer
Loving Father, excavate an emptiness in me that only You can fill. I yearn to be an effective servant for You.
1 Joyce Baldwin, The Message of Genesis 12–50, The Bible Speaks Today, IVP, 1986, p137 2 1 John 3:2 3 Ps 42:1
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