One ThingSample

The One Thing Worth Wrestling For

“I will not let you go unless you bless me” (Genesis 32:26, ESV).

The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon, but the day did not feel new for the two wrestlers. All night long, Jacob and the man had been engaged in hand-to-hand combat, and after hours of physical struggle, there was no clear winner. Breathless and exhausted, the man saw that he did not prevail over Jacob, so he wounded him in his hip.

Despite his injury, Jacob would not let go. He refused to leave without a blessing. The man, who was God in human form, had to hand it to Jacob; his refusal to give up made him a worthy opponent. Jacob wrestled with God all night, and not only survived, but prevailed.

So God gave him a new name, and a new identity: no longer would he be called Jacob the “heel grabber,” but Israel, the “One who strives with God and prevailed” (Gen. 32:28, ESV). This is the origin of Israel’s national name, but it’s also a spiritual marker for all in the family of God.

As Christians, we identify with this family of faith—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We know what it’s like to wrestle with God and come away limping. Do you see your heart’s longing in Jacob’s cry, “I will not let you go unless you bless me”?

We don’t wrestle with God the same way Jacob did, but we might cling to him, believing our devotion will earn his favor. If I do what’s good and right, God owes it to me to bless me. When I read my Bible, I’ll have a better day. Conversely, we may conclude that I’m having a bad day because I haven’t read my Bible lately.

But God doesn’t operate that way. Our relationship with him isn’t based on our doing for him, but his doing for us. Consider the pattern of wrestling that leads to blessing.

Jacob was God’s chosen one, from whom the Messiah would eventually come, yet God struck him.

And God also struck his chosen one, his Son, Jesus.

He was “pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities…and by his wounds we are healed” (Isa. 53:5, ESV).

Jesus also wrestled in the dark, sweating blood in Gethsemane, and he clung to the Father’s will. He rose again not with a limp, but with the scars of our redemption. His suffering became the means of our blessing.

So, what do you do if you’re wrestling with God?

You do what Jacob did: you hold on and refuse to let go, even if you don’t understand his ways. Holy leisure isn’t always quiet and serene; sometimes it feels like a wrestling match. But it’s still the “one thing” worth wrestling for, because being in his presence is our greatest blessing. For the God who wrestles with us in the dark is the same God who blesses us at dawn—hang onto him.