Sermon Cloud

When I get to Heaven I will have a lot of questions about things in the Bible.  One of those questions will be for Jacob about the story in Genesis 32:22-32.  “Jacob, what was it like wrestling with God in the dark?  How long was it before you figured out that this was God with Whom you were struggling?”

I’ll try to get back to you after I have that conversation one day.

But you and I do know what it is like to struggle and wrestle in the dark.  As the car insurance ad says, “Life comes at you fast.”  It really does!  You never know what a day will bring.  The day can become night quickly and the struggle is on.  You’ve been there, haven’t you?

Jacob had life come at him fast.  Twenty years before that night, he had tricked and deceived and conned his twin brother Esau out of his rights as the firstborn of the two.  Now, Jacob’s sneaky and conniving past catches up with him.  Jacob’s day starts getting darker when he hears the news that Esau is coming to see him.  Jacob assumes Esau is coming to even the score.   And Jacob was all out of tricks.  Jacob’s philosophy of life was, “I’ve made my bed and now I’ve got to weasel out of it.”  But this time there was no “weasling” to be done.  It was time to face reality.

Jacob’s enemy was not his twin brother.  Jacob’s enemy was Jacob.  And this particular night, Jacob’s opponent was not Esau.  It was God.  And although God was his opponent, He was not Jacob’s enemy.   He was, in fact, Jacob’s best friend.  He wanted Jacob to come out of this dark night of struggle a winner.

There is one especially intriguing part of that story.  God touched Jacob’s hip and dislocated it.  This caused Jacob to stop fighting but he still hung on tenaciously.  He told the Lord, “I won’t let You go until You bless me.”  I’m sure God thought to Himself, “that’s what I want to hear!”

God allows painful things to happen to us.  But God is never mean.  He was not being mean to Jacob by dislocating his hip joint.  Quite to the contrary, God gave Jacob the best gift he had ever received up to that point in his life.  God gave Jacob a reason to stop trusting Jacob and start trusting Him.   Centuries later, Paul would talk about his thorn in the flesh as a source of strength from God because “when I am weak, then I am strong.”  God is always there at the end of your rope, ready to say, “Ok, let go and let Me hold on to YOU now.  You’ve done it your way long enough.  Now, let’s try Mine.” 

There is an alternative to wrestling with God in the dark.  That alternative is following God in the light.  It is always better to get it right the first time rather than to experience God’s discipline.  This is why it is so important that we stay close to the Lord and remain responsive to His leadership.

God is good!

Note:  Home groups begin this Sunday evening.  God has led me to challenge us to link generations in this church.   I hear repeatedly from young and middle years adults a desire to get to know our senior generation.  I also sense that our senior generation would love to adopt “grandkids” in our church family but may not know where to begin.  This is a great opportunity for us to come together as a true family!  Wherever you are in your life’s journey, your church family needs you.  Sign up for a group and let God bless you as you bless others! 

Remember that new chapter we’ve been talking about?  It is beginning!  I can’t wait to see what is on the next page.

Gary