What does it mean to wrestle with God?
And an even deeper question: is it possible to win a wrestling match with God?
Genesis 32 paints the surreal picture of a man wrestling all night with Jacob.
For those following our series on Christophanies—pre-incarnate appearances of Jesus throughout the Old Testament—you can already guess who this “man” is.
Jesus.
Here’s the backdrop to this story: Jacob was a master manipulator who spent his life on the run—dodging threats from his enraged brother Esau and enduring underhanded dealings by his uncle Laban.
Though God repeatedly promised Jacob a future of blessing, the ol’ trickster remained plagued by fear.
So, on the eve of a reunion with Esau, Jacob is camped in the desert, alone, anticipating a possible murderous showdown. Talk about tension.
In this vulnerable moment, a mysterious stranger shows up and launches into a wrestling match that lasts until daybreak.
With one touch, this mysterious foe dislocates Jacob’s hip—yet Jacob stubbornly refuses to let go.
Why? Why does Jacob refuse to let go?Jacob realizes that this is no mere man. He’s grappling with God Himself.
Instead of fighting for victory, Jacob clings for blessing. In response, God renames him “Israel,” meaning “he struggles with God,” and imparts an irrevocable blessing.
By the time the sun rises, Jacob emerges limping but ultimately triumphant because he’s finally realized the futility of wrestling against the One who holds his future.
From a modern perspective, this story might make us scratch our heads and wonder, “Why would God physically wrestle with someone?”
But that’s precisely the point...
This is a vivid, gritty demonstration of how God meets us in the rawest parts of our humanity. We see it later in Scripture, too—Jesus stepping into our frailties, heartbreaks, and conflicts.
When Christ took on flesh in Bethlehem, it wasn’t His first rodeo of entering our messy struggles. Long before Calvary, He was already tangling with broken people, from Hagar in the wilderness to Jacob on the banks of the Jabbok.
CONSIDER THIS:
We all must wrestle with God at some point in our lives, whether it be through doubt, temptation, or pride. What do you need to wrestle with today?
Jacob’s story shatters the lie that believers float through life on a cloud of serenity. Instead, it affirms this one abiding truth:
Weakness, fear, and even failure are not evidence of God’s absence but rather the soil where divine transformation can flourish. As Frederick Buechner puts it, “Remember Jesus of Nazareth, staggering on broken feet out of the tomb toward the Resurrection, bearing on his body the proud insignia of the defeat which is victory, the magnificent defeat of the human soul at the hands of God.”
In the midst of trials and chaos, God offers a corresponding gift—His presence, His power, and often, His wrestling.
In the end, Jacob is a model for us all
When he finally stopped fighting in his own strength, he discovered the true blessing. Yes, he left with a limp, but also with a new name and a fresh assurance of God’s promise.
It’s often in the place of absolute desperation that we, like Jacob, realize our champion was there all along—and His name is Jesus.
