I was the fastest distance runner on my school wrestling team. This was not necessarily an asset. I remember though that when my dad drove the team bus and witnessed my matches I felt invincible. For a moment I was no longer the Rhein Main representative in the 96 pound weight class. I was the son of Jerald. I could not lose. Dad didn’t always get to drive the bus though. After my wrestling career ended, I returned to running. On the whole it has been safer for me.
Jacob ran before he wrestled. After he defrauded his brother, he ran for his life to a far country. A sleepover at God’s house in Bethel prepared him for his future. After he arrived and found himself among his mother’s people, Jacob was blessed with his own family. He ended up with wives and thirteen children. After years of conflict with his father in law Laban, Jacob decided to go home.
“Sooner or later we all sit down to a big banquet of consequences.” Jacob knew he would have to face the music when he went home to Esau his twin brother. He feared for his family and frankly, for his own life. There was no way to finesse the situation or finagle his way out. He wondered if Esau would accept his bribe. Oh yes. And Jacob prayed. Trouble can drive us to our knees, if we are wise. Jacob asked God to save him from his brother (32:11). Then he devised a plan to assuage his brother’s anger with an expensive gift.
As Jacob wondered how to prepare the crow he was about to eat, he sent his family across the river. The last time he had been alone at Bethel, God showed up. Could it happen again? God did not disappoint him. There alone with his thoughts, in a match with God, Jacob found out who he was. He had always lived down to his name “Grasper.” This night he became a grappler, wrestling with God, begging for a blessing. God granted his request. Ever after that night Jacob walked with a limp. So did he win or lose the match? Well, God changed his name to Israel, “One who prevails with God.”
Surrender to God always leads us to victory. Usually we are unable to retract our past mistakes. Sometimes all we can do is hold on to God. But when we do, we may find that he changes our name, or at least changes us. We may not yet be who we ought to be or want to be. But thank God we are not who we used to be. Run to God today. Grapple with him. Run to him, not away from him. Remember whose child you are. We win in the end.
