... And the Angel is Overcome.

Why always must we fight? What is so worth keeping on? Why not just give up. No fancy words here, just simply when life is hard, when bank accounts shrink, friends abandon you, despair creeps in and continually leeches your soul the substinence of a raisin, why keep on?

A man not so long ago, fought with a man in great vehemence in similar fashion to how we fight with life, with the curse of this world. One came from out of the night overtaking the other in the quiet fog of an ambush. The second came from dark hopelessness, he was separated from his family, certain that his brother would come with the sword, hoping to wet it on his neck. So in the midst of this the two men engage in hand to hand combat. Nothing makes men what they are like the rawness of struggling against another’s hands that are encircling your neck to strangle you to death. One not letting go of the other, the two are gripped in desperate struggle. Sweat pussing from their pores like blood from a scrape. Two fumbling shadows camouflage in and out of the grass as dusk lurks upon them with the silence of an alligator upon the Nile. The first man, seeing sun upon the horizon, realizing the end of the night is come, reaches down and with a mighty hand striking the hip from the other, crippling him, and voiding any future attack. Helpless the second man falls to the ground, all is lost except one thing, his grip upon the other man. Iron clad he will not let go. Hands gripped as if a curse upon a villain at the end of a fairy tail. From the canyon of a throat dry from the drought of exasperation emits the final word, “Bless me.” Dusk has ended, the sun has risen, leaving one broken, beaten, blessed man.

This is the situation that Jacob, “the deceiver” found himself in at the end of Genesis 32. The twilight of his life seemed to embark upon his prosperous reality as Esau his brother had come with over 400 men to do who knows what to him and his family. Knowing the danger Jacob splits up his family for safety so that his attendance would not attain their demise at the revelation of Esau. How would one feel, knowing that you are going to die within the night, alone without one to speak to for comfort. The cold must have been creeping into his bones with tremors of frigid temperature cutting his marrow and seizing his ambition and strength. And then he is attacked by another man, and they wrestle. But the thing that we must pay more attention to is that Jacob realized one important thing, that this man was greater than him, and he could not let him go, for as the author the Hebrews eternally inked, “It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior” or better yet, as Bono says, “Jacob wrestles with the angel, and the angel is overcome.”

Do you wrestle? Im not talking about physical wrestling, cast that image of Nacho Libre out of your head, however funny the movie really is. Im talking about in life, is it hard? Do you forget the promises of God. That he has ‘overcome the world’ (John 16:33), that you will ‘see God’ if you are pure in heart (Matt 5:8), that ‘all things’ are given to us for continually relationship with him (2 Pet 1:3)?

I think its because when God ambushes us with trials, we don’t fight, we give up, we don’t hold on, we let go because if we did hold fast, we would have to let go of our agenda, our schedule, not his agenda, his schedule, his kingdom, his will.

“Test everything; hold fast to what is good” (1 Thess 5:21)

I think this anecdote from the life of Jacob could be here to tell us in this pluralistic world that scorns any type of conflict, that its okay to fight, its okay to struggle. In fact as a follower of Christ, you are supposed to, and its usually how you grow. So take heart in that.

Jacob tested the strength and integrity of this man he wrestled with. Saw that he was greater than him, knew the promise of God, and held fast until the promised blessing came. Do you? Do we? Its worth it. The blessing of God is only given to those who hold fast. Is God good, then hold on we’re in for a wild ride, and like John G. Patton says, we’re “Immortal until our work is done.” Think about that next time you hesitate for sake of fear of man at obeying the Lord. Be strong, because he has made you that way, and has given all things for your good, especially the fist fights. Be like Jacob, don’t let go of God until you see the cold blooded reality of his blessings.