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I want to welcome you to Day 2 of Week 7 through the book of Genesis, Chapter 32
of the book of Genesis. Yesterday, we left Jacob, who had just left his
father-in-law, Laban, but his problems are not over. In front of him is his
brother Esau, this brother that had vowed to kill him.

At this point, Chapter 32 of Genesis, Jacob is literally a schemer who's run out
of schemes. He has an angry father-in-law behind him, and he can't go that
direction. He has a hateful brother in front of him, he can't go that direction,
so he decides to go in the direction of trust.

As we saw yesterday, Jacob's life has begun to change, but it hasn't completely
changed. He still has his plans going. As you read this chapter, Genesis 32, in
verses 3 to 8, he's scheming that diplomacy maybe is going to be the answer to
him meeting his brother who's going to make everything okay.

And then in verses 13 to 21, he schemes that possibly appeasement is the way
that he's going to make everything okay with his brother. He's got his plans
going. In the midst of all of this, there's this prayer that he prays in verses
9 to 12 asking God for help.

Now, honestly, that's great progress for Jacob. "God, help me," he prays, "keep
me safe in the midst of these plans that I'm working out for you. " Now, he
hasn't gotten to a good place yet, but it's progress.

At least it's not all about what God needs to do for Jacob's life. At least he's
looking to God, but he hasn't gotten it right yet. He's gotten to the place that
many of us get to, and there are some who never get beyond this place in their
spiritual maturity.

"God, keep me safe in the midst of these plans that I have for my life. God,
help me to do what I want. " Rather than this new place of maturity, this new
place of security, this new place of faith where you begin to pray, "God, show
me how to do what you want.

Show me how to live the life that you've made for me. " Now, Jacob's life is
going to change in these verses in this chapter. He has been in the bargaining
phase, and out of that bargaining phase came the struggling phase, struggling
with God, struggling with people.

But here, in a moment, in chapter 32, he faces what I call the wrestling phase.
Let me read for you verses 21 to 32. "So Jacob's gifts went on ahead of him
towards Esau his brother, and he himself spent the night in the camp.

That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two maidservants, and his
eleven sons, and he crossed the ford of the Jebak. After he had sent them across
the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 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 the hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 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 men and have overcome.

' Jacob said, 'Please tell me your name. ' But he replied, 'Why do you ask my
name? ' And then he blessed him there.

And so Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, 'It is because I saw God face to
face, and yet my life was spared. The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel,
and he was limping because of his hip. Therefore, to this day, the Israelites do
not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip, because the socket of
Jacob's hip was touched near that tendon.

' Here is this wrestling phase in Jacob's life. Here is this wrestling match in
Jacob's life. Perfect.

It's a perfect picture of the struggle that was happening in Jacob. It's not a
foot race. He's been running for far too long.

He's wrestling someplace somewhere where he could no longer run. Who is he
wrestling with here? He's wrestling with God.

I know you read these verses and it says, 'The man said,' what's this all about?
This is called in the Bible a theophany. This is God appearing as a man in some
way.

This is not all of God becoming a man as he became in Jesus Christ. This is God
appearing as a man in some way. It's called a theophany and it simply means that
God is willing to come to this place in Jacob's life where he appears as a man
in some way so he can experience in a real sense this wrestling, but more than
just wrestling, healing.

There's healing that's going on in Jacob's life. He's wrestling with the great
physician, Jesus Christ. And it's interesting.

He has a very interesting, fascinating way of healing Jacob. He touches him and
he makes him limp. Now, before we go on with Jacob, let me just ask you a
question.

Where are you wrestling? Where are you wrestling right now in your life? Maybe
you're wrestling with a character change.

Maybe you're wrestling with a circumstance that you wish would change, a health
circumstance, a circumstance with your family. Maybe you're wrestling with an
unanswered prayer. Maybe you're wrestling with a habit that you just can't seem
to let go of or you can't seem to start.

Maybe you're wrestling with doubt. You doubt the way that God is managing your
relationships, he's managing your life. Maybe you're wrestling with a
relationship.

Whatever you're wrestling with, here's what it's really all about, this
wrestling match. Who is in control? Am I in control or trying to be or is God in
control?

Who is in control? In these verses, Jacob is wrestling with God. He's not
wrestling with circumstances or unanswered prayer or doubt or Satan or enemies
or an evil society or his sinful nature.

He is wrestling with God. Ron Dunn in his book, When Heaven is Silent, says
Jacob had prayed for protection from Esau, his brother. What he needed was
protection from God.

Esau was not his problem, God was his problem. And the truth is, there are times
in my life and in your life when God is our problem too. But he is our solution
as well.

God is our problem when we see him as in the way of something we want to
control. He is our solution when we recognize that allowing him to control is
the only way out of the problem. You see, three things happen to Jacob.

Don't miss this. Three things happen to Jacob when he wrestles with God. And
you're wrestling right now over what's happening in your life and even your
doubt and struggles with God.

These are the three things that God can allow to happen. He brings him face to
face with who he is, number one. Number two, he brings him face to face with who
he can be.

And number three, he brings him face to face with who he cannot be. That's what
happens. Number one, he brings him face to face with who he is.

He asks him, "What's your name? " And Jacob has to say, "Jacob. " He knows the
meaning.

He's saying, "I'm a schemer. " Jacob was admitting before God, "This is what I'm
really like. " It's not as if God doesn't know.

God knows me. He knows you. He knows exactly what we're really like.

But there's something in us that doesn't want to say it out loud, that doesn't
want to confess it. God knew who Jacob was. God knew his name, but he still
wanted him to confess it.

And the same thing's true in my life and in your life. God knows my actions. He
knows my character.

But he wants me to sit before him in humility and say, "God, here's who I am,
the good and the bad. Here's who I am. " He brings him face to face with who he
is in the wrestling.

But secondly, he brings him face to face with who he can be. He says, "Your name
has been Jacob. It will be Israel.

" There are some who don't know that Jacob's name became Israel. We know that
Abram became Abraham, but we don't know that Jacob became Israel, that the
nation of Israel is named for Jacob. The whole nation is named for this moment,
Israel.

Jacob was the man who would become a nation. He was the bearer of God's promise.
His descendants would become as the stars.

You are Israel. You are one who has struggled with God and one, and God's
promise is going to come through your life. He brings him face to face with who
he can be.

Not just with who he is, but also with who he can be. In fact, let me say it
this way. I believe we have too many Jacobs and not enough Israelis.

Too many who can tell you what's wrong with their lives, where they are right
now, but not enough who finished the story, who are able to say, "This is what
God wants to make right in my life. " You need to see what's wrong. You need to
see who you are right now, the good and the bad, but you also need to see what
God wants to make right, where he wants to lead you, where he wants to guide
you, the Israel that he wants to make of you.

If you don't see that, if you don't get that in your life, then you live without
hope. You live without the motivation that you need to live a life of faith. You
wrestle with God.

You come face to face with who you are. You come face to face with who you can
be, but you also come face to face with who you can't be. Jacob tries to
struggle and wrestle with God and win.

He loses. You can't wrestle with God and win, and because of this, God leaves
him with a limp. Jacob lives the rest of his life with that limp.

He lives the rest of his life with a physical reminder to the fact that God is
the boss. God wants to do incredible, great, wonderful, awesome things in your
life, but you can't be God. Who is it that you cannot be?

You can't be the one who's ultimately in control of anything. Your life,
somebody else's life, this world, human history, God is in control, and I am
not, and those four words empower incredible things in my life and in your life.
God is in control, face to face with who you can't be, and when I come to a
place of peace with that, everything changes in my life.

Jacob wrestles with God. Maybe you're wrestling right now. Let me pray for you.

Lord, I pray particularly right now for those who are wrestling. There's
feelings of uneasiness. There's feelings of doubt.

There's feelings of disappointment. There's maybe even feelings of anger towards
God. I pray, Jesus Christ, that you would bring us face to face with who we are,
how we've come to this place in our lives, but also with who we can be, that you
haven't given up on us, that you want to do great and wonderful things in our
lives, through our lives, and also face to face with who we can't be.

We can't be God. We can't be in control, so help us to hold our lives in some
fresh new way before you. Lord, it's not easy.

It's wrestling. And when we wrestle, there is energy. There is sweat.

There is tiredness. There is the feeling of defeat. There is wondering if we can
go on.

But on the other side of that, there is you. You'll never fail us. You'll never
forsake us.

So, God, I pray that in the wrestling, we discover you as we never have before.
We pray this in Jesus' name, amen.