“Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have wrestled with God and with humans and have overcome.””
Oh, these words from Genesis 32:22-32 and this story have been one I have turned to often over the years. For those that may not know I was a wrestling statistician in High School. Yes, that is a thing, and it basically meant that among other things I kept score of the matches. Points are awarded based on what you do against someone…and it is also important to know that that person you wrestle against is generally in your same weight class.
But, Jacob wrestled with God and there is no way that they were in the same weight class, skill level, or anything. Yet, Jacob came out of it having overcome it. It was not without scaring, as the scriptures tell us he walked forevermore with a limp. It was also not without change because he went to the mat with God as Jacob and came out as Israel, the name literally means ‘He who perseveres, He who Struggles’. But he still overcame, and he still believed in God. It is important too to note that not only Jacob but David and even Jesus had moments of ‘wrestling’.
I will admit that the words of this scripture have held me steadfast during some of the difficult moments in my life, because they have assured me that it is okay to wrestle with God. Moments when I felt the floor falling out from underneath me and wrestled with God for answers to questions, I did not know how to even articulate. Moments, days, weeks, months, and admittedly years when I feel like I am okay that I have moved beyond something, at peace, and yet, then I am taken back to the mat in an unexpected takedown and have to wrestle through it all again.
Lent has become a time for me to engage in a perspective shift. Instead of giving something up that takes down my faith, I have shifted to what can I do to build up, strengthen, my faith. My prayer for us all is that we can seek how we each can draw closer to God throughout this season.
Wrestling with God is one such way… by intentionally taking time to hold onto God and work through the issues (and we all have them) that we have with God, with our faith, with other Christians, with the church. These can be issues where we blame God for the things that have happened or issues that we have never fully understood or may never get an answer to, or they can simply be questions we have always wondered about or feelings of inadequacy or doubt. Gods got us as we wrestle. God's with us as we are working through our concerns, acknowledging the questions we might still have, gaining peace with where we are, and where we may be headed. Gods got us, and as God did with Jacob, God assures us of the blessings we receive when we work through things with God.
From Rev. Kara R. Swartz
Co-Minister at Newark Central Christian Church (DOC), Newark, OH