Is God requiring you to submit a particular area of your life over to him? Last week, I was reminded of the familiar story of when Jacob wrestled with God. I had always been curious about this story and how it could apply to my life. Well, last week is when the Lord would give me revelation on this story that directly applies to my personal life.
Just before Jacob settles into a place where he wrestles with God; he is confronted with his past. This past of his brings about anxieties within him that cause him to fear for his very life. In his past, he had tricked his brother, Essau, out of his birthright. The last encounter that he had with his brother was that of an angry Essau, who desired to kill his brother.
Years had gone by since Jacob and Essau had talked. Seeing how he did not leave his brother on peaceful terms, his lack of knowing what to expect from this meeting with his brother only produced much fear and anxiety. He devised ways to keep the situation under control by sending his servants to the front of his entourage to offer gifts, and splitting his entourage into two companies saying if one is attacked perhaps the other can get away. After, Jacob did everything within his power to pacify his brother in preparation to meet him, he prayed to the Lord.
Full of anxiety, he began to remind the Lord of his promise mentioning what God had promised to his father Abraham that he would make his seed as the sands of the earth. Later, that night, he began to wrestle with the Lord. The Bible says that when God knew he was not going to prevail against him; he grabbed his hip and caused it to be out of place. From then on, Jacob walked with a limp.
This has always intrigued me. Why would God not be able to overcome a mere man in a wrestling match? I believe that the wrestling was symbolic of not a physical wrestling match, but a wrestling match of wills and a wrestling match of trust in God. Jacob was so upset about the fear of meeting with his brother that I believe it was hard for him to completely entrust the ordeal completely over to God, How many of us have wrestled with something that we tried to figure out, control, and cope with on our own only to find that our answer is just as simple as submitting that area over to God, and letting him have it.
I believe God wrestling with Jacob was symbolic of God asking him to submit this fear and anxiety to him–To submit his trust in the Lord in this particular area. When God saw that Jacob was bent more on the fear than trusting in him; God had to allow him to be broken to make him dependent on him. I believe that God will allow brokenness in our lives to re-center us back to submitting our trust to him in the area where we are most broken. I believe God wrestling with him was sharing with him that he wanted that broken place not for Jacob to remain broken, but through Christ that God could use brokenness to make him whole.
Wholeness in some areas of our lives will only be realized when we learn to depend on God in those areas. We see that Jacob was preparing to run from the confrontation with his brother. He had separated his entourage into two companies saying to himself, “If Essau attacks one company, the other will have a chance to run and get away.” He was still strategizing on his own to fix the situation that had already been fixed. God had already changed Essau’s heart causing him to desire to reconcile with his brother in forgiveness.
What areas of our lives are we still striving to overcome in? Areas that Jesus has already invited us to walk in freedom in if we only submit those areas over to him. Submitting the areas that we struggle with over to God result in trust in God. When we aren’t so willing to do this, and when we continue to wrestle with God on these issues, he will sometimes cause brokenness or allow brokenness in order to cause us to depend on him.
The sacrifices of God are a broken and contrite spirit and those who give God this offering will see that it isn’t despised (Psalms 51:17). In the place of being broken, we find that God is near to us (Psalms 34:18). This is why brokenness is so important. There are times when all of us as believers must be broken to be whole.
The end result of Jacob’s encounter with God was that his name was changed to Israel. Israel was the name of the nation that was promised to Abraham. God’s response was not only to confirm his promise, but to better upgrade Jacob’s identity into one who had become ready for the promise. He reconciled with his brother. They both fell on one another’s neck and kissed one another. What was once a question of fear, anxiety, and possible death in the end began a story of triumph, restoration, and trust in God. This is what God desires to do in us when we give him our broken places.
Let’s invite God into the personal broken places in our lives. The ugly ones, as well as those that aren’t so ugly and see what he does with it.
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