Genesis 32:22-31 (NRSV)
Read Genesis 32:22-31 on biblegateway.com
Verse 22The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. Verse 23He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had.
Verse 24Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. Verse 25When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Verse 26Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go, unless you bless me." Verse 27So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." Verse 28Then the man said, "You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed." Verse 29Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him. Verse 30So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved." Verse 31The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.
Devotion
Why is it almost always in the wee hours of the night that I wrestle with the struggles I am going through in my life? When I'm worried about my child, I can't sleep. When I have doubts about what I am doing at work, I toss and turn. When there are tensions in my marriage, I keep rolling over in bed, looking at the clock—1:04 a.m....2:36 a.m....3:42 a.m.—and desperately waiting for the alarm to tell me it is time to get up. It is as if my soul is wrestling with my heart to make some sense of what needs to be done in the face of the trials of this life. All I desire is for the unknowns, the worst-case possibilities to fade away, and for the morning to come.
And then as often dawn arrives. The morning sun shines forth with hope and the promise of something different, something new to come my way. It comes with a blessing from God and the promise that God remains with me, my strength and my song, as I deal with the problems in my life. Thanks be to God for never leaving me when I struggle, for listening when I cry out, and for guiding me to yet another sunrise and the start of a new day.
Prayer
O God, as we struggle and wrestle with the problems in our lives, give us your blessing. Help us to face each new day with the courage and strength and peace that only you can give. Amen.