Years ago, I worked at a hospital in California. I remember witnessing to a gal there named Linda. Every time I’d share something with her, she’d respond with a retort or try to prove me—and the Bible—wrong. But eventually her resolve began to crack.
One night, she lashed out at me in desperation. “Linda,” I replied, “you’re fighting God. Surrender to Him tonight and watch what happens.” She broke down in tears and prayed to receive Jesus Christ.
In Genesis 32, we read about Jacob’s struggle with God. “Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day” (v. 24). God wrestled with Jacob to bring him to the end of himself—to surrender.
“Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him” (v. 25). The Man merely touched Jacob’s hip, and it was dislocated. But Jacob still wouldn’t let go.
Now it wasn’t really a wrestling match. As soon as this Man wanted to end it, He incapacitated Jacob with a simple touch. Why? So Jacob couldn’t run, which is what he had been doing his whole life. Now, he had to cling to the Lord.
In verse 26, Jacob said, “I will not let You go unless You bless Me!” And the Man said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed” (v. 28).
Now, consider what Israel means. I think the best translation is “one who fights victoriously with God.” It’s not one who fights against God, or even for God, but with God.
Do you want to know the secret of Christian strength? It’s not looking in the mirror and smiling until you look confident. The secret of great spiritual strength is to admit, “I’m weak.” When you recognize your weakness and lean upon Him, He’ll give you strength beyond yourself.
If you’re thinking, “That doesn’t make sense,” remember what Paul learned when he asked the Lord to deliver him from “a thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7). God said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (v. 9). And Paul said, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities…. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (vv. 9-10).
Leighton Ford, who worked with Dr. Billy Graham, used to say, “God loves us the way we are, but too much to leave us that way.”
God loved Jacob, but to change him, He had to add pressure to his life. So if you’re feeling beat-up and afflicted, just see it as God getting your attention. David wrote, “Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep your Word” (Psalm 119:67).
Are you resisting something God is trying to do in your life? Tell Him, “Lord, I surrender all to You.”
Instead of resisting Him, cooperate with Him. Instead of asking Him to bless you and your plans, say, “Lord, what are Your plans? What are You doing? How can I be on board and be a part of that?”
That’s the most exciting way to live.
