Wrestling for a Blessing
Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
October 19, 2025 8:00 am
Prayer
Father God, we thank You for the opportunity to wrestle with You. In our struggle against sin and our sinful flesh, we are able to work out our anxious thoughts and immature ways. It is a great blessing that You hold on to us when we don’t have the strength to hold on to You. Bless us again today and give us Your peace. Amen.
Scripture
Genesis 32:22-30
Meditation
Our text comes at the end of a unit in Genesis which deals with Jacob and Esau (25:19-33:17). After all the ups and downs and twists and turns of Jacob’s story, it finally comes to a head at the Jabbok River. After twenty years on the run, Jacob will finally have to face his brother, Esau. But before he does, he will have to wrestle with God.
It is interesting to note that sometime during this grappling match, Jacob realizes he is wrestling the Lord. What was he doing? There was no chance he would prevail against the Creator! God is allowing Jacob to fight on and does not need Jacob to stop grappling with Him (32:26). Instead, God wants Jacob to continue to grapple, to wrestle, to hold on to Him. So, Jacob persistently cries out, “I will not let You go unless You bless me” (32:26).
Wrestling with God is something with which we can all identify. The times when we are alone, facing life’s most challenging times, are the very moments when we wrestle with God. Struggling to find answers because of past sins, only to have God touch us in a way we never thought possible. Like Jacob, we hold on to Christ as He blesses us with the promises He died to bring.