"Wounded and Blessed"

(Please read Genesis 32:22-31 Jacob Wrestling With God)

No gasping, please! No gasping at the thoughts of wrestling with God! I realize that some of you might not understand, on a personal level, these Scriptures. But for many others, this account of Jacob wrestling with God is very personal. There is a first-hand understanding of the clinging, wrestling perseverance of Jacob and a vivid remembrance of that “touch” of God when, in essence, God said, “Enough.” There is an overwhelming thankfulness in that holy touch that wounds a person to a point of change. In it all, there are blessings that only God can bestow.

But before there is an encounter or this wrestling type of perseverance, before there is the wounding touch of God that leads to God’s blessings, there is a time when we find ourselves face to face with God … alone. Often, the aloneness is so silent that for a while this “stranger” cannot be seen or heard in a person’s darkness. But God is there.

This aloneness, just before we recognize that we are in the presence of God, is a gift as difficult as it might prove to be. Jacob stands squarely in an empty camp. Behind him are lies, schemes, ambitions and a stolen birthright. Ahead of him are his family and all of his possessions that have become bribes for personal safety, forgiveness and reconciliation. There is nothing remaining for Jacob to control or manipulate. Nothing.

The “stranger” appears and suddenly a wrestling match begins. The One who can stop the wrestling before it begins often allows this struggle to go throughout the darkness of the night. God does not engage in this wrestling match as an overwhelming force, but as One who is powerful enough, tenacious enough, smart enough and big enough for us to realize that we have truly found ourselves wrestling with a persistent, loving and forgiving God. And so the wrestling turns to clinging. Even in our exhaustion, we don’t want to let go. Out of the depths, the cries come … “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” It is not what we cling to in life that blesses our lives, it is who we cling to that gives us a new name.

Jacob limped away a wounded, transformed and blessed man. Blessed are those who have received such a wound, for they have seen the face of God!

Most Gracious God … A friend once told me that you do indeed wound us at times and out of the wounded place, love begins to flow from us. Where there is a need for such wrestling and wounding, prepare each heart for perseverance. May we cling to you tenaciously, knowing that we will be wounded and yet trusting that we will be changed. Give us new names. O God, thank you for the assurance that you fill the wounds from your touch with the healing balm of your saving grace. Amen.

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