It’s my rest day today, and I woke up early in the morning with a thought in my head about the life of Jacob, and the moment when he wrestled to God. It was quiet amazing musing on his story, especially when we are looking to a man who once live his life as a cheat, who also experienced deceit, failures and injustice. It seems restless living a life who ran away from his family and a brother who is fiercely angry with him because of a blessing that he stole. And right there and then, he is wrestling to God and he was not letting go.
In Genesis 32:24-28 [ESV] it says, And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his 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 has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
What seems amazing about the story is, when you look back to it, the first time he asked of his name he lied; only to get the blessing of his father Isaac. And how we can all relate to Jacob is we didn’t come with the purest intentions and motives, but as time goes by when we come to realization that restlessness is real when we are trying to become someone who we are really not. Then, just as Jacob we are going to wrestle in just to find rest from who we really are. Rest from all the lies, for who we are trying to and to people we need to have peace with. For him, it all began wrestling with God, fully determined of not letting go and by asking his name which this time with his desperation and all honesty he answered God and told him of who he really is, he said Jacob. A cheat, and a troublesome man. Right on that moment, he finds the rest he was looking for; when God gave him a new name and God blessed him as Israel.
Pondering to what God had meant to the life of Jacob is a story of God’s sovereignty. When we are trying to wrestle with our own terms, our own ideals and our own ways, but only leads us to restlessness. God wanted us to wrestle with Him, to know our identity amidst of relational burden, dysfunction and disorientation. To wrestle with Him to find our joy in the midst our struggles in the present, our hurts and secrets from the past and the uncertainty of tomorrow. And wrestling with God through the Bible and prayer is to find our rest in his Son. The Son of God, Jesus, came to us so that he may invite us on how we can truly rest in God.
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30 [ESV]
Isaac Borja 