Even though we can’t see God, we can still wrestle with Him. Many times, we do this as we are processing what He is calling us to do. This daily devotional looks at how we wrestle with God and our self-perception or attitude about ourselves.
Nuggets
- Jacob wrestled God the night before he was to meet Esau again after 20 years.
- We wrestle with God when we try to understand what His Word is telling us.
- We wrestle with God when we try to connect new information about God with what we already know of Him.
- We wrestle with God when we try to determine and accept what His mission is for us.
- We are in a wrestling match when Satan tries to tempt us to deny God.
I have a Warrior Princess bracelet. No, I am not a warrior, and I am definitely not a princess.
My bracelet is just a thin metal cuff that has the word “believe” stamped on it. What do I believe?
What I am is a fake-it-until-you-make-it girl. I believe my self-talk goes a long way in determining who I am and who I am becoming. I believe that I have to have faith that I will grow into who I am supposed to be.
I Have to Process
You see, I am a processor. In the past, I have had coworkers ask me something and then comment, “Oh, I see the gears spinning in your head.” That is because I am thinking things through.
In my mind, I take all these pieces of information and find the connections. Okay, some may be a stretch for other people, but they make perfect sense in my wee mind.
As I put the connections together, I learn new things. It helps me strengthen or question past knowledge and beliefs.
I do this with scriptures, also. One word or phrase may trigger some connection that others may or may not see.
Jacob Wrestled with God
Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. (Gen. 32: 24 CSB)
Let’s take “wrestled” in Genesis 32: 24 as an example. It is talking about the night before Jacob was to meet Esau again after 20 years. God came to meet Jacob, and they got into it for some unknown reason.
It is important to note that the verse says that the man wrestled with Jacob. God instituted it. So He is okay with us processing
The reason isn’t the important thing. If it would have been, God would have made sure it was recorded.
The focus is on that God and Jacob wrestled.
Many believe that Jacob actually physically wrestled with God. Unfortunately, God is not sitting in a chair beside us, so we don’t have the physical part. If He were, we would not be hitting the mats in a demonstration of strength (remember, non-warrior here for me).
How Do We Wrestle with God?
But we do wrestle with God – sometimes more than others. We wrestle with what He is telling us in His Word.
Sometimes, the translation of the Scriptures that I am reading may be English, but it sure is Greek to me. I just don’t understand what God is trying to tell me.
Paul talks Greek in his letters, even though they are translated into English. I think he was one of those super-smart people who, when he gets caught up in his topic, can end up talking way above our heads.
I have to process when the scripture I am reading says something different than what another scripture says. You know there are those. We have talked about a couple of them.
To read a related devotion, click the appropriate button below.
So, I have to process. What do I know about what other Scriptures tell me? How does this fall in line with them? If this conflicts with other Scriptures, what do I believe and why? What nugget can I glean from this passage?
I believe that all the verses of the Bible give us a glimpse into God’s character — but just a glimpse. God is complex, so there is a lot to understand.
Plus, Scriptures are only an introduction to Who God is. God reveals it to us as we navigate the Sanctification Road and grow closer to Him.
- Sanctification is the transformation of mind, body, and soul, which begins with regeneration, gradually changes our nature and morals through the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and ends with perfected state of spiritual wholeness or completeness.
- Regeneration is being changed from spiritually dead to spiritually alive and the internal requickening in us that God brings about through the work of the Holy Spirit to give us new character.
- Spiritual death is the separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin. The spiritually alive are those who have ABCDed, so they are no longer separated from God.
- The perfected state indicates the combination of the spiritual graces which, when all are present, form spiritual wholeness or completeness.
- Spiritual graces are worldly morals that have been submitted to God to further His kingdom instead of enhancing this world.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
Glossary
We have to wrestle with how the new glimpses to see how they augment what we already know. How is God pulling us into a deeper knowledge of Him and His ways?
We wrestle with God in trying to figure out what He is calling us to do. Usually when that happens, it is because we don’t see how it is all going to shake out. Even if we are willing to do what God is calling us to, we struggle with the logistics of actually accomplishing that.
I like seeing the big picture, so if the box lid to the puzzle is missing to show me how it all fits together, I struggle. It becomes a big wrestling match.
Exhibit A: when God called me to start this blog. He took me from something I knew inside and out to something that was totally foreign to me.
It started out just wanting to get the devotions I had written dusted off so other people could read them and wanting to write more. I felt God was calling me to do this.
But I kept running into roadblocks as to what God was wanting me to do. I wrestled with it so much that I had myself convinced it was Satan talking to me to get me to go down a totally different path than what God wanted.
Then it morphed into we’re going to do this online. Then the wrestling match got fierce.
Does God really know what He is doing? I am a decent end user, but I am definitely not a techie. (So, let me apologize now for all the technical difficulties Seeking God with Elaine experiences – we will have them.) Wouldn’t He be better served with someone with even a little more technical ability than what I have?
The answer was no — I am the one He is calling. But He let me wrestle around with the idea and do enough research until I got to believing I could do this.
How Do We Apply This?
We have to wrestle/process until we can latch onto whatever God is telling us and make it our own. We tend to work harder at something when we own it, when we are in whole hog.
We just need to be stepping out in faith while we wrestle — just like Abraham did when God called him (Gen. 12: 4). Abraham may have kicked it around in his mind, questioning where he was going to end up, but he did he questioning while the feet did the moving.
A lot of this wrestling goes on in our minds and thoughts. In my former career, that was tied into self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is a fancy word for self-perception. It is our attitude about ourselves.
An integral part of self-efficacy is the belief that we can complete a future task or goal. Did your mother ever tell you that you can do anything that you put your mind to?
If we think we can do something, we are more motivated to do it. If we think we will have problems doing something – and ultimately fail – we will procrastinate and do anything but that.
Sometimes, we have to wrestle and change our self-perception. Trust me. That isn’t easy. When I was growing up, I was a total mouse. I have very low self-esteem.
What happened to change my picture of myself? I saw the battles I had to go through. Getting Adam the education he needed was a constant battle.
My marriage and its demise was a battle. I had to learn that I could depend on God more than myself. I had to find out that I not only could succeed, but also flourish on my own.
My job really boosted my self-confidence. I was good at what I did. I was able to help many of the faculty members do their jobs better.
God knows that we have to believe in Him and in ourselves. He also knows that we do not see ourselves as He sees us. “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession …” (1 Pet. 2: 9 NIV). We see our faults and imperfections; He see us in His image (Gen. 2: 27).
At times, it can be a huge struggle to change our self-perception to how God sees us. God is right there with us as we go through that wrestling match. He knows it isn’t easy.
The wrestling match is all just a part of God molding us to be what He wants us to be. Remember, “… we are the clay, and you [God] are our potter; we are all the work of your hand” (Is. 64:8 ESV). God will mold us into the people He has made us to be.
God wants us to make a conscious decision to follow Him. That takes working it out. “Therefore, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, so now, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2: 12 CSB).
That means wresting to get it right. We have to follow God’s Will for our lives. When He is calling us to go right, we have to go right.
God is more than a willing participant in that wrestling match because He knows Satan will try to get us to wrestle, also. Satan will come at us to get us to sin. God knows that we have to be strong enough in those wrestling matches to resist Satan.
Okay, maybe I am a warrior. I will fight to become the person that God wants me to be. I will fight Satan every time he wants me to deny my Father. Also, I am a princess because I am the child of a King. Wow, I am a warrior princess.
Our Father. You are so patient with us. You know who we are, even if we do not see ourselves that way. We are children of the King. We are made in Your image. Lord, we choose You. Forgive us when we just don’t see that. Mold us to be who You want us to be. Let our wrestling lead to You. Keep us in the palm of Your hand while we wrestle with all that You are calling us to be and do. Prepare us for the day when faith will become sight. Amen.
What do you think?
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I never really understood what it means to wrestle with Yahweh until now after reading this.
Thank you? and God bless..
I am glad I was able to help! Blessings
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Thank you so much, as I’m in fasting this morning the Holy Spirit left this word in my Spirit. WRESTLING WITH GOD..
I started searching and and it brought me to your blog. I also have a Facebook and blog I’ve neglected, but I received instruction now. The Holy Spirit has been prompting me continuously but I was to busy. People were liking to page, but I haven’t posted anything recently.
I also see that I’m wrestling all the time, with God. But I thank the Lord for this moment.
God bless you
I am glad that God used these words to speak to you. It is very easy to wrestle with Him, and very hard to just do what He says sometimes. Good luck as you follow His call. Elaine
I have always thought it was silly for anyone to wrestle with God. But this write up has brought total clarity to this.
The nudging of the Spirit should never be taken for granted Thanks so much for this beautiful write up. You have indeed blessed me . Keep up the good work and send my love to Adam .
I am so glad that God used these words to speek to you.
Yes, we should always listen for the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, we don’t always listen and obey right away. Hopefully, we will get the wrestling done quickly.
Thank you for the kind words. I will tell Adam.
Elaine
This was a great explanation of the Bible verse. I think you do a great job!!
Thank you!
Thank you so much for helping me understand this concept of wrestling with God. I have recognized that im down that path and have been my whole life. I sometimes feel that I am not disciplined or strong enough to maintain a constant state of purity and it dissappoints me and sadens me when I reflect. I know we cannot be perfect. It is extremely difficult in the world these days to avoid sin. I feel it has further penetrated through our spirits in modern times. I really do believe God is the almighty and that love will always overpower hate but, sometimes it is hard to understand that when you see how society as a whole is currenty. Anyways just thought I’d share some gratitude and thoughts with you. I recently began to really search for God’s love. This blog is still making an impact. Thank you. God bless you.
Thank you for your words of encouragement. I am glad God used what I wrote to speak to you. We all wrestle with God — to me, that is just a part of sanctification. But we have to do it the right way.
Elaine