SCRIPTURE: Genesis 32
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
(Read my reflection from 2008)
So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared. [Genesis 32:28]
Who is this “man” that Jacob wrestles with?
At first Jacob assumed it was just a man.
But in the end he concludes that he had been wrestling with God?
This is either very bizarre or very profound.
It makes me think of how I wrestled with my kids (when they were young, they would hurt me now), and how I would accommodate my strength for their weakness.
For some reason the Lord had to humble Jacob before He could use him.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” [Luke 5:8]
Peter was a bold man, a Type A personality.
We know from the gospels that he was a big talker, and in this story he suggests that maybe Jesus doesn’t know what He is talking about, as far as fishing goes [Luke 5:5].
But after the huge catch of fish, Peter realizes that he is with more than just an ordinary man – he is in the presence of God, and is an unworthy sinner.
For some reason the Lord had to humble Jacob before He could use him.

Both were confident, capable men: Jacob was a clever, crafty fellow, and Peter was a bold, skilled fisherman.
But before the Lord can use them, He has to remind them that it is His greatness, and not theirs, that will make them succeed.
Neither Jacob’s clever scheming nor Peter’s bold speaking would help them accomplish His great purpose for them.
The way that the Lord humbles them is by giving them a dramatic experience of His greatness, enough to humble them.

We all need this, we all need to be reminded of God’s worthiness and our unworthiness apart from Him.
And thankfully He loves us, and is willing to ‘wrestle’ with us, to accommodate His strength to our weakness in order to build us up.
Thinking again how I would let the kids ‘win’ at wrestling against me, the Lord ‘wrestles’ with us in all our weakness to strengthen us and make us better.
Through our life experiences and challenges, through God-moments each day of our lives, He refines and sharpens us, and makes us more useful for His purpose.
And at the end of our lives, when we look back and review all that was accomplished, we will realize that we were in the presence of God, and that it was His face ‘smiling on us’ that gave us success, or helped us through trials.

PRAYER:
Lord, like Jacob and Peter, I need to be humbled. Thank You for wrestling with me in my weakness, to make me a better person for You and Your purpose.