Jacob Wrestles at Peniel
22 That same night Jacob got up, took his two wives, his two concubines, and his eleven children, and crossed the Jabbok River. 23 After he had sent them across, he also sent across all that he owned, 24 but he stayed behind, alone.
Then a man came and wrestled with him until just before daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he was not winning the struggle, he hit Jacob on the hip, and it was thrown out of joint. 26 The man said, “Let me go; daylight is coming.”
“I won’t, unless you bless me,” Jacob answered.
27 “What is your name?” the man asked.
“Jacob,” he answered.
28 The man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob. You have struggled with God and with men, and you have won; so your name will be Israel.”
29 Jacob said, “Now tell me your name.”
But he answered, “Why do you want to know my name?” Then he blessed Jacob.
30 Jacob said, “I have seen God face-to-face, and I am still alive”; so he named the place Peniel. 31 The sun rose as Jacob was leaving Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.
Genesis 32:22-31
Wrestling,
still grappling,
trying to gain the upper hand.
Searching,
seeking,
longing,
to be.
Still yearning
for that blessing,
not the stolen one,
but God’s blessing
on me
and my life.
And now you come,
I am marked,
forever,
by our struggle;
from now on
I am changed.
You call me by a new name,
a new purpose
a new me.
I have met God,
we have struggled,
I am renewed
and I am alive.
Struggling,
I wrestle with you Lord.
I search
and I seek,
I long for you to touch me,
to change me
to make me new,
in you.
Bless me Lord
I pray.
Bless each one of us.
Meet us in our struggle,
touch us,
renew us
and may we know we are alive in you.
This is such a beautiful hymn. It means so much to me of being able to trace God’s rainbow through the rain and the God whose love never lets us go, whatever the struggle. And this is a beautiful rendition of it:
For another take of mine on this passage, see Scarred for Life
