Wrastlin'

Wrestling or as it is called in the country, wrastlin’, used to be one of my favorite things to watch on TV. Now, I must say I am a fan of wrastlin’ of the 80’s and early 90’s. I am talking about the original Hulk Hogan, not Hollywood Hulk Hogan. In fact, I couldn’t tell you anything about today’s WWE, I was strictly WWF with Mean Gene, Macho Man Randy Savage, Andre the Giant, Ray Mistero Jr., the British Bulldog, Roddy Piper, Ric Flair, The Road Warriors, The Junkyard Dog, I mean the list goes on and on. I was always amazed at what these guys could do in the ring and how much of a “beating” they could take.” Yes, I know the truth.

They all had a finishing move that was the ultimate move that nobody could break and would end the match for a pin. I remember everyone wanted to figure out the Figure 4 leg lock of Ric Flair. Then there was the leg drop of Hulk Hogan. A lot of times these finishing moves were just a variation of another move with a different name. And supposedly, these wrastlers’ had perfected it to the point of being able to use it to finish a match.

Why am I talking about wrestling on this Sunday? Well, I invite you to open up your Bible to Genesis chapter 32 verses 22 through 31. In case you can’t find it, Genesis is the first book of the Bible and has 50 chapters. So, this chapter is just over half way through Genesis. Now, hear these words recorded in the first book of the Bible.

Genesis 32:22–31 CEB

Jacob got up during the night, took his two wives, his two women servants, and his eleven sons, and crossed the Jabbok River’s shallow water. He took them and everything that belonged to him, and he helped them cross the river. But Jacob stayed apart by himself, and a man wrestled with him until dawn broke. When the man saw that he couldn’t defeat Jacob, he grabbed Jacob’s thigh and tore a muscle in Jacob’s thigh as he wrestled with him. The man said, “Let me go because the dawn is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I won’t let you go until you bless me.” He said to Jacob, “What’s your name?” and he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name won’t be Jacob any longer, but Israel, because you struggled with God and with men and won.” Jacob also asked and said, “Tell me your name.” But he said, “Why do you ask for my name?” and he blessed Jacob there. Jacob named the place Peniel, “because I’ve seen God face-to-face, and my life has been saved.” The sun rose as Jacob passed Penuel, limping because of his thigh.

This has always been an interesting story to me. We find Jacob moving his whole family and all their belongings to the land on the other side of the Jabbok River. Which is a river that feeds into the Jordan. That means the other side of the river would be the promised land. This is the land that was promised to Abraham’s descendants. This is the land that Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt but could not enter till after Moses’ death. Jacob helps his family cross the Jabbok River at a shallow point but he stays back on his side of the river while the family is on the other side.

I really wish I knew why Jacob stayed back. Could it be he needed a break from the group? We really do not know. We do know that he is following his brother Esau. If you remember, Jacob was the younger brother but had stole Esau’s birthright with the help of his mother, Rebekah. Esau was upset about Jacob receiving Issac’s blessing and vowed to kill Jacob. Jacob fled, at his mother’s urging to the land of Laban.

Our story, finds Jacob returning to his homeland and heading toward Esau. Jacob had sent flocks ahead with servants as a gift to Esau to try to calm Esau’s anger against him. Then Jacob hears that Esau is heading his way with 400 men and this worries Jacob. So, he probably sent his family ahead of him hoping they did not see what Esau was going to do to Jacob. But, we are not completely sure as to why. He could have sent them ahead so it would be easier for Jacob to run from Esau but alas we do not know exactly. What we do know is that Jacob stayed by himself and wrestled with a man.

Was Jacob’s opponent a man, an angel, or God? Well, that is a great question. Each holds its own place. The scripture does say man but many scholars will say it is God that Jacob has wrastled with. I mean think about that Jacob is either strong enough or has enough endurance to wrastle through the night with God and they are at a draw until God uses a finishing move to end the match. Now, God could have used any move to finish the match. I mean God could have brought the “thunder” down on Jacob and struck him with lightning. But, God grabs Jacob’s thigh and tears the muscle.

I’ve never torn a muscle before but I have heard it is a very painful experience. A torn muscle is not something that you really want. It takes some time to heal from a tear and it hurts every time you use that muscle during the healing. In fact, it takes weeks or even months for a torn muscle to heal. But, Jacob gets up and walks or limps away after his meeting. Jacob is forever changed after this event, including his name as he is now known as Israel.

But, what does this have to do with us? I mean, I haven’t met anyone who has wrastled with an angel. But, many of us have wrastled with God throughout our lives. For us, this wrastlin’ is a little different than Jacob’s experience. We do not have an actual encounter in person. Our encounter comes from studying and growing as a disciple. I know you are probably sitting there thinking, how is this possible, Todd? How do I wrastle with God?

One way we wrastle with God is through our meditation on scripture. Have you ever had a scripture that you have had to wrastle with to understand? You know it is a scripture that after you read it seems to keep coming back up in your mind. When it pops into your mind you begin to think about what it could mean to you and why it keeps coming up. As you think about this scripture things happen. You begin to see the text in a different light. You begin to notice things you didn’t notice the first time.

What is interesting about our wrastlin’ with scripture is the effects it has on us. After Jacob wrastled with God he left that place a changed man. He left there with a limp and a new name. He had a new outlook on life. For us, when we wrastle with scripture we are changed too. We don’t walk away with a limp, unless we have been sitting for so long that our leg falls asleep. No, are understanding of scripture has changed. We gain insight on not only the text we are reading but other texts that connect to it. Our hearts are changed as we begin to better understand God in the text and in our life.

Another way we wrastle with God is through our faith or our theology. I believe theology is faith seeking understanding. When we ask questions about God then we wrastle with our faith to better understand and find an answer. Many people struggle with the Trinity, the idea of God being three in one. The Trinity is something a lot of people wrastle with and seek to find understanding. When they ask the question they wrastle with the concept and learn from it and there is growth both spiritually and within our faith.

Friends, it is ok to wrastle with God. I mean it is not going to be like Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair with a ring and ropes to jump off of. There will not be any physical struggles. Our wrastlin’ with God is all mental and the finishing move that God uses is change. Wrastlin with God brings about change within us. We learn, we grow, and we become more like Christ in our actions and our words. So, it is okay if you feel like you are wrastlin’ with God. It is okay to struggle with the meaning of scripture. Just know, that as you wrastle with God you will come out on the other side a change person and that change is for the good. Continue wrastlin’ friends, your wrastlin’ should never end!