Wrestle Mania

When my daughters were young we did a lot of wrestling. They would take me down almost every day as I returned home from work. They would each grab a leg and begin their work in earnest to topple me. Their little arms and legs would wrap around me as they struggled to subdue my hulking frame. I loved these matches. My girls hung on until they won. They always won.

My favorite wrestler was a guy named Jacob. He was a family man, a businessman, and a spiritual man. He was a self-made man, and a good guy. Jacob had out maneuvered his older and bigger brother to secure a prized blessing from his aging father. He slipped out of town just in time to avoid the fury and wrath of his very large and angry sibling. He travelled to a foreign country, fell in love, married the woman of his dreams (and her sister, which was a little awkward at first), and became a man of great wealth and standing. He had hustled and dodged, navigated and negotiated, slipped into town and out of town. He was smart, he was quick and he was ambitious. Jacob was a winner. He was blessed with wealth, will health, will love and security. With all he had, Jacob was still a foreigner.

Then God called him to come home. No accomplishment, accolade or blessing can be fully appreciated or enjoyed until we are home. Jacob had faced many hardships and dangers over the years, but nothing as scary as the journey back to his family. Going home would mean facing his past, meeting his brother and discovering his fate.

The night before his uncertain homecoming, Jacob found himself alone, in the dark, locked into a life or death wrestling match with God. He must have taken many falls during this marathon match. Somewhere during the night he must have lost his breath and at times his courage. He must have felt the power of a force that he could neither escape nor overcome. Jacob was wrestling for his life, with a God he could not pin and circumstances he could not spin. This good man met his match and his maker in a dark ring that changed his name and his life. He was both wounded and healed in his encounter with God. The truth is, a man who has wrestled with God can go home and really be there, even if he is limping.

God enjoys wrestling. We have to be willing to get in the ring with Him, before we ask others to get in the ring with us. Most of us need help in wrestling the fear, pride, shame and hurt out of our own hearts. Let’s work out and wrestle out anything that keeps us from being all the way home. We have families and relationships who are watching and waiting for our arrival. Let’s go the distance.