Life comprises of series of struggles and joys. Every moment of our life is filled with joys and sorrows; the memories which we ever so cherish forms our experience that belong only to ourselves. Yet, who do we struggle with? Is it man, life circumstances, ourselves or is it with God? Genesis 32:24-28 paints a beautiful picture about a man coming to terms with his identity, one who endured many struggles throughout his life, only to struggle once more.
“So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”
Jacob, the deceiver, in his defeat to God at the brink of the morning, seemingly after an advantageous fight throughout the night, clinging onto what appears to be God’s feet in humility, asks to be blessed. God, our heavenly Father, then asks the question that was once asked by Jacob’s earthly father, to whom he deceived. This time Jacob realizes the implication of his struggle in conjunction with his identity which leads to the monumental realization that his struggle was with God all this time. God blesses Jacob and gives him a new name, a new identity forged from the birthplace of wisdom; the understanding that apart from God we are nothing.
Our life brings forth many struggles, yet we are distracted by the worries of the outcome of the struggles that we forget that midst the chaos God is shaping our character. Our struggles are not worldly, instead it is a struggle to claim our identity; the person who God wants us to be as opposed to who we are as a result of the fallen world. We must ask ourselves, is ourselves not more important to God than the external circumstances to which we blindingly hold fast unto? Does God not promise to test us beyond our capabilities, for he will direct us in a path to flee from temptation? Isn’t our character worth more than all the treasures of this world? As Booker T Washington once said, “Character, not circumstances, make the man.”
God initiates the struggle, wanting for us to realize that we have no control over life’s circumstances, that faith and hope ultimately dictate our peace. The assurance that God will provide us with all of our needs. It is difficult to trust in God when we are emotionally distressed and our life is falling before our eyes. We question God’s promises, whether they were a fragment of our imagination; however, God is faithful and he blesses those who are faithful to him among strife and uncertainty. I’ve yet to witness an individual who puts their trust in the Lord whom God failed to deliver. We should rejoice in our struggles and tribulations, for God chastens and rebukes those whom He loves.