Grappling with God

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading, titled, Grappling with God, was written by Alison Keita.

A long-time friend sent me a note after my husband's death. It said, Alan was a grappler with God. He was a real Jacob and a strong reason why I am a Christian today. I'd never thought to compare Alan's struggles with the patriarch Jacob's, but it fit. Throughout his life, Alan struggled with himself and wrestled with God for answers. He loved God, but couldn't always grasp the truths that he loved him, forgave him, and heard his prayers.

Yet his life had its blessings, and he positively influenced many. Jacob's life was characterized by struggle too. In Genesis 32, he connived to get his brother Esau's birthright. He fled home and struggled for years with his kinsmen and father-in-law Laban.

Then he fled Laban. He was alone and afraid to meet Esau, yet he just had a heavenly encounter. The angels of God met him, perhaps a reminder of his earlier dream from God. Now Jacob had another encounter. All night he wrestled with a man, God in human form, who renamed him Israel, because he struggled with God and with humans and overcame. God was with and loved Jacob, despite and through it all.

All of us have struggles, but we're not alone. God is with us in each trial. Those who believe in him are loved, forgiven, and promised eternal life.

We can hold fast to him. The day's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Genesis 32 verses 22-32. That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons and crossed the fort at the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream he sent over all his possessions. So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 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.

Then the man said, Let me go, for it is daybreak. But Jacob replied, I will not let you go unless you bless me. The man asked him, What is your name? Jacob, he answered. Then the man said, Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome. Jacob said, Please tell me your name.

But he replied, Why do you ask my name? Then he blessed him there. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.

The son rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 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. Let's pray. Dear Father, grant us the strength to surrender all our doubts and burdens to you. Fill us with your peace as we put our trust in you to guide us through all our times of questioning and uncertainty. Thank you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening today. My name is Rachelle Traube, and our encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.