Wrestling with God

It can be so easy to avoid digging into difficult questions. Truth is often like a puzzle, it takes time to sift through the different pieces, and when two and two are finally pieced together, it only provides a glimpse of the whole, and then it’s back to sifting once more. This is what digging into the Bible can feel like, it causes me to wrestle with the beliefs and ideas that I have become comfortable in believing. Is all this sifting, searching and wrestling worth it? Why should I wrestle with God?

            “The riddles of God prove more satisfying than the answers proposed without God” (G.K. Chesterton)

In Genesis 32, there is a narrative of Jacob physically wrestling with God, it is after this encounter that his name is then changed to Israel. This narrative is interesting, and there are three distinct aspects of this story that have influenced my perceptions about wrestling with God.

1.     And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. (Genesis 32:24)

The insight that Jacob was alone reveals that a precondition to wrestling with God is being in a place of solitude. It is in the place where I am left alone with my deepest questions, my deepest doubts and my deepest frustrations that I begin to wrestle with the transcendent. In our contemporary world, solitude and silence are becoming increasingly rare. With social media, it is possibile to constantly keep myself distracted, keeping my deepest questions and thoughts at bay and not allowing for genuine wrestling to occur. Is this a good thing? Should I seek to avoid wrestling with my questions and doubts or should I embrace them?

2.     When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob. (Genesis 32:25)

            This is a confusing verse, it is confusing that God, who is omnipotent, was not able to prevail against Jacob. Due to God’s omnipotence, it can be inferred that God allowed Jacob to prevail, for God would not have been unable to overcome Jacob if that was his chief motive for wrestling. Perhaps this reveals that God’s motive in the wrestling was not to overcome Jacob. Could it be that there is a certain level of intimacy in this place of wrestling, an intimacy that God enjoys? Could it be that because God enjoys the wrestling, he chooses not to overpower Jacob, as that may cause him stop wrestling, and so He instead allows Jacob to have success in the wrestling to encourage him to continue, thus drawing him into deeper intimacy. I’ll use an illustration of playing ping pong to further elucidate this point. When playing with someone who is inferior in skill, I will often lower the level of my play to that of my opponent. There are two reasons for this, the first is that by lowering my level of play, I allow for a more competitive game, and longer rallies, which are overall more enjoyable. Secondly, I know that if I were to win by a landslide, there is a high likelihood that they will not want to play anymore, due to discouragement and dejection from being beaten so handily. Perhaps in the same way, God allows me to have success in wrestling with Him to encourage me to keep wrestling, and to cultivate more enjoyment in the wrestling from a prolonged bout and a more even match.

3.     Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob” Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him.  (Genesis 32:26-29)

When I choose to wrestle with God, I am forever changed, and there is a blessing within the wrestling. The result of Jacob’s wrestling with God is that his name is changed, and he is blessed. The man Jacob was before wrestling with God is gone, and a new man with a new name is born because of his wrestling with God. This result should sever any notion that wrestling with God is improper, inappropriate or useless. Rather, I should embrace the wrestling, with the knowledge that there is a blessing within the wrestling, and that the result of wrestling with God will leave a mark on me that will cause me to be changed forever. Therefore, I should be motivated to allow my deepest questions and doubts to surface, so I can wrestle through those thoughts with my transcendent creator, in hopeful anticipation of the blessing and change that will be birthed from that process.

A peculiarity in this passage is the meaning of the name Israel, which is “God Prevails.” (Blue Letter Bible) It is odd how the passage describes Jacob as being the one who prevails, but the name given to him after this encounter would suggest that it was rather God who prevailed. Perhaps it is a matter of perspective, from Jacob’s viewpoint, he perceived himself as having prevailed over God since he endured the wrestling bout and arose “victorious” with a blessing. However, from God’s viewpoint, the endurance and success of Jacob and the transformation that occurred from this process caused the purposes of God to prevail, as this moment marked the birth of His chosen people, Israel. Jacob’s perspective is nearsighted, whereas God has in mind a much grander narrative, one where the nation Israel will one day give birth to the saviour of the world, redeeming mankind back to himself through the person of Jesus and fulfilling His promise to Adam and Eve in the garden. In this way, it was God’s plan that prevailed through the wrestling between He and Jacob.

Another passage from scripture that supports the notion of wrestling with God is found in the gospel of Luke, where Jesus is teaching his disciples about prayer.

And he said to them, “Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, “Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him”, and he will answer from within, “Do not bother me, the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed, I cannot get up and give you anything”? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence, he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find, knock, and it will be opened to you.  (Luke 11:5-9)

It can be observed that in its narrative context, this parable functions as an allegory: the petitioner, who is unsuccessful in acquiring his loaves through customary means, represents disciples and/or readers at prayer while the sleeper, whom Jesus portrays as an untrustworthy or perturbed friend, stands for God. (Metzger, 42) It is interesting, that within this narrative Jesus states it is because of the petitioner’s impudence that his request is granted. Impudence can be defined as the quality of being rude and not showing respect. The Greek root used in this passage is the word “anaideia” which can also mean shamelessness. It would therefore seem that Jesus is not only making allowance for, but rather recommending this type of communication with God.

“Disciples are encouraged not only to express their concerns before God in ways that might be perceived as offensive or even blasphemous but to continue asking, seeking, and knocking, fully confident of both a hearing and a response… Jesus is recommending the kind of audacious dialogue before God ascribed to Abraham, Ezra, and Job and that such dialogue not be suspended until one receives (or discovers) a response.” (Metzger, 42)

In my own life, I have found that when I allow my deepest doubts, questions, and frustrations to boil over and be unfettered before God, it more than often elicits a response that brings peace and clarity to my tumultuous heart. This passage should therefore be inspiration to not remain stagnant in spirit, disempowered by the lie that God will be reticent to my doubts, questions and frustrations. Rather, I should embrace “wrestling’ while in prayer, in hopeful anticipation of receiving an answer from God within this process.

From reflecting on these two passages in scripture, I find encouragement to not shrink away from wrestling with God, but to rather embrace it, being bold and audacious in prayer, and being willing to unscrew the cork to the bottle of brewing questions, doubts and frustrations that can culminate within my heart. By entering this place of wrestling, I find support in these passages that God desires to wrestle with me, that He indeed may even enjoy the wrestling, and that there is blessing and a transformation that occurs as a by-product to my willingness to enter this place of grappling with my creator.

References

1.     Chesterton. Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton. Happy Hour Books. 

2.     “G335 - Anaideia - Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible, www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g335/kjv/tr/ss1/0-1. Accessed 28 May 2024. 

3.     “H3478 - Yiśrā’ēl - Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible, www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3478/kjv/wlc/0-1/.

4.     Metzger, J. A. (2010). God as f(r)iend?: reading Luke 11:5-13 & 18:1-8 with a hermeneutic of suffering. Horizons in Biblical Theology, 32(1), 33–57. https://doi.org/10.1163/187122010X494768

5.     The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (ESV), Containing the Old and New Testaments. Crossway Books, 2011.