On Jacob’s journey to reconcile
With Esau at his home,
He’d sent his family across the way
And waited all alone.
As he waited worriedly
Gazing in the night
A stranger came upon his camp,
And they began to fight.
They fought and wrestled all night long,
Till break of dawn began.
But victory could not be clearly
Claimed by either man.
The stranger then touched Jacob’s hip,
Out of socket it was wrenched.
But even through the blinding pain,
Jacob held on tight, entrenched.
The stranger asked to be let go
Since no victory was achieved.
But Jacob said he’d hold on fast
Till a blessing he’d received.
The stranger told him he’d be known
As Israel from now on,
For he had fought with God and men
And against them he had won.
When the blessing had been given,
The stranger left him there.
He said, “I’ve seen God face to face,
Yet my life’s been spared.”
And so the place he named Peniel
For he had seen God’s face.
And as the sun was rising,
Jacob left that place.
From that day forth, Israel
On humility did not skimp,
For he walked away from that wrestling match
With a blessing and a limp.
We wrestle still with God today
In many different ways,
Though we may not, like Israel did,
See God face to face.
We wrestle with the Scriptures
And we wrestle in our minds,
And many times more questions
Than answers we will find.
As we spend more time with Him
In study and in prayer,
The closer we will grow to Him
And His image we will bear.
We cry and beg for blessings
To soothe our aching hearts,
And blessings He will give us,
Though it always leaves a mark.
When God we encounter,
We never are the same.
Though in this bout of wrestling,
Clear victory is claimed.
If we walk away from Him,
Still steeped in sin and pride,
We’ve claimed no victory over Him,
We’ve only Him denied.
But if we get close enough to Him
That He can touch our hearts,
We may walk away broken
But that’s where the healing starts.
If we let Him in our hearts,
There is double victory.
For though the Lord has overcome,
He’s now alive in me.
As we keep on growing,
We’ll wrestle Him again.
He allows our doubts and fears
Though against Him we may strain.
And after every wrestling match,
We may hobble, bruised and sore,
But we know the Lord still loves us,
And is with us evermore.
