Genesis 32:22-32
“The same night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, the man struck Jacob on the hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, yet my life is preserved.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the thigh muscle that is on the hip socket, because he struck Jacob on the hip socket at the thigh muscle.”
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress. The struggle may be a moral one or it may be a physical one, or it may be both moral and physical, but it must be a struggle.”
- Frederick Douglass
This story about Jacob leaves quite a bit to the imagination. To me when we say things like, “God works in mysterious ways,” what we are actually saying is, “God can be a little wild sometimes.” We aren’t given any details around who this man is, where he came from, why he wrestled with Jacob, or why, if he was truly God, he was unable to overpower Jacob during the wrestling match. That’s wild, right?
Jacob’s life was built around deceitful acts. Instead of doing the work and creating opportunities for himself, he chose to lie and deceive his way through life. But this life of abhorrent behavior came with a price, as his estranged brother Esau was looking for vengeance.
So, Jacob wrestled with a “man” until daybreak. As a reminder of his struggle, he was left with both the blessing of a new name and a permanent injury, each in its own way a symbol of God’s incarnational peace, the blessing, and God’s wildness, the limp. Jacob also marked the place of his struggle, perhaps to remind himself of God’s greatness in times when his faith may waver, or lest he be tempted to revert to his prior ways of trickery rather than continue on the path of progress that was set in motion by his night-long struggle.
My daughter Kayla played fast-pitch softball in college. Her freshman season ended early due to Covid, and her entire sophomore year Covid protocols were in place. Between September and October of her sophomore year, Kayla’s maternal grandmother and paternal grandfather (my father) passed away. As you can imagine, this was a tough time for Kayla, made worse by the coach’s decision to restrict teammates from spending time together outside of softball activities. These events, coupled with the unhealthy environment created by the coach, led to Kayla contemplating quitting softball. This internal struggle created unbearable stress which led to Kayla having a panic attack during practice. When I asked Kayla what was going on with her, she divulged all the things she was holding inside. After some long, pointed conversations, Kayla made the decision to step away from softball at the end of the season.
After making the decision about her softball career, Kayla felt lighter, freer, and more empowered than she had ever felt before. She began playing her best ball ever and helped to lead her team to a National Championship in the last game of her college softball career.
As her father, it was extremely tough watching my baby go through this trying time. But in the end, Kayla’s struggle gave her new perspective as she came out of this experience stronger and more resilient. Furthermore, she is now better prepared to handle the many challenges she will face the rest of her life. Just as after his struggle, Jacob was better prepared to bear the name Israel, with all the responsibilities associated with that.
When in your own life have you experienced progress that could only have been achieved through struggle?
And looking back, are you able to see both God’s peacefulness and wildness in that struggle?