I read an article a few weeks ago that had a quote from the Genesis story about Jacob. It had been a while since I had read that story so I flipped over to Gen. 32 and read thru the chapter. Something stuck out to me that I had never seen before, possibly because I was reading it in a translation I hadn't read it in before. The verses that drop kicked me are below:
24-25 But Jacob stayed behind by himself, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he couldn't get the best of Jacob as they wrestled, he deliberately threw Jacob's hip out of joint.
28 The man said, "But no longer. Your name is no longer Jacob. From now on it's Israel (God-Wrestler); you've wrestled with God and you've come through."
Depending on the translation you are reading, there can be a variance of who exactly Jacob was wrestling. Some say he wrestled a man, some say he wrestled an angel and some say he wrestled God Himself.
regardless of the translation you read/prefer, the issue that body slammed me was in the definition of Jacob's new name, Israel.
Israel literally means "God-Wrestler".
I was locked on this thought much the same way a wrestler can lock you in a hold and you just can't escape it.
Here's my thought: God named His chosen people "God-Wrestler"
He didn't name them "loved ones" or "the best of the best" He gave them a name that best describes what it is that He wants from us:
To wrestle with Him.
Mentally, Spiritually or physically, His desire is for us to grab onto Him and work out our issues with Him. It's how you build a relationship!
Much the same way you form relationships with people/friends/loved ones. Sometimes you just have to get work it out (Phil. 2:12) to understand each other.
My advice to you...
Jump off the top ropes and get into it with God.
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