Howdy Now I gotta tell y 'all There's a gate
that's right over here. It's by the playground.
Okay, it's over near the preschool It is this
this lock that's on there. Okay? Every time I
go up to it I have the key for this lock and
I put it in there and I am trying to go ahead
and get it open and it does not turn Almost every
single time I put the key in there. I try it.
One, two, three, four, ten, fifteen times. And
the key will not open that lock. If I've been
trying that that many times, you're probably
wondering, is it the right key? And then it turns.
And that's the thing about this. I know that
I've got the right key in my hand. And I have
been trying it, but it's old. It's a little bit
worn. And you just got to keep jiggling. But
the reason I keep trying is because I know it's
the right key. And you know, it fits. It belongs
there. And you got to just keep trying. You got
to just keep turning. Just hold on for one more
day until it finally clicks. You know, we do
this all the time, everyday life. Maybe it's
when you're showing up for your kids. It feels
like you're not getting through, but you still
keep doing what it is that you know they need
from you. Or maybe you're at work, and you're
trying to do right by someone. They're not responding
the way that you hope, but you know you've got
to keep coming up to them with kindness, patience,
hoping that they'll finally respond well. And
it's the same thing that Jesus is talking about
in Luke 18 is the story of the persistent widow
who keeps coming before the unjust judge. You
know, this feeling where this judge should be
doing the right thing, but for whatever reason,
won't. And finally, she doesn't stop because
she believes there's something, just something
right that's worth clinging to. Until finally,
the judge gives in. Not because it's right, but
because he's just tired of this person. We understand
that kind of persistence when it comes to people.
But when it comes to God, do we really believe
it? Do we really believe that He's going to respond,
that He cares for us, that He delights in what's
good and right, and that He actually wants us
to keep asking to keep turning to Him and to
keep clinging to Him? See, we may see what it
is to do this in everyday life, where you know
that if you're persistent, maybe you can try
to finally get what it is that you want. You
know those times when the kids, they know which
parent to go to? And the one that's going to
give in? Oh yeah, yeah. Sorry mom. Or we know
that you don't bother going to the other one
because they're going to say no. That you go
to the one that's going to say yes. You know
which door is going to open and you just keep
pushing them until you know that they're going
to say yes. Maybe even at work. You know, somebody
knows that this manager or this coworker will
eventually give them what they want. They're
not really nervous about asking, even though
it is a bad idea and everybody knows it. They
know that if they go to this one person, they'll
be able to get it. You don't need to justify
it, tiptoe around it. They just ask because they
know persistence works in this way. They know
how to work the system. In the world, we believe
in persistence. We believe in negotiation, effort,
repetition. But when it comes to God, we start
to wonder, is God even listening? Am I saying
it right? Did I get the right combination for
God to be listening? You know, that's where we
get confused about the lock. See, sometimes we
treat prayer like a combination lock. We keep
entering what we think is the right combination.
Over and over, we wonder if we're doing it wrong.
So then sometimes, you know, you change up the
order because you're thinking, well, it should
have worked. I should have gotten it open. But
you see, God is not a combination lock. He's
not waiting for us to say the right words or
to perform the perfect formula. He's not looking
for a right combination because He is the key.
And He invites us to keep clinging to Him, not
because we figured Him out to get what we want,
but because we trust Him. And that is what brings
us to Jacob today. The man who literally wrestled
with God. Jacob spends the entire night grappling
with a mysterious figure, a man, the Hebrew says.
Though it's clear, this is no ordinary man. Jacob
is about to see his brother Esau years after
he had deceived him and stolen his birthright.
And he does not know what is about to happen.
And a man comes along. How else do you think
he is feeling at this moment but anxious and
willing to take on anyone? And he wrestles all
night long. and he refuses to let go. Even when
his hip is thrown out of joint and Jacob still
clings to him and says, I will not let you go
unless you bless me. That's faith. Not the tidy,
polite faith that we're supposed to have after
confirmation, but desperate clinging faith. The
faith that says, I don't understand everything,
but I'm not letting go of you. And the limp that
Jacob carries afterward because his testimony
is what it becomes. Every step he takes from
then on reminds him of that night of the struggle,
the pain, the encounter, and the blessing. See,
the Hebrew that's in there, it simply says ish,
aleph, yod, shin, ish, a man, that's it. But
the identity, it unfolds itself. because Jacob
later says, I have seen God face to face and
yet my life is preserved. This is why many interpreters
understand that this is a theophany, a revelation
of God, a visible appearance of God, the angel
of the Lord who represents God's presence in
a tangible form. You see, others, they see the
outward expression of his inner struggle. with
his brother, with his father, who didn't love
him the same way as his older brother, his uncle,
who took advantage of him with his wife. And
now, with God Himself, He's always wrestled to
control His own destiny. And now, He has met
the one that He cannot actually manipulate, and
He won't give up. And Hosea 12 says, He strove
with the angel and prevailed, and wept. and sought
His favor. This wrestling match with the angel,
a representative of God's will and blessing,
God has met Jacob in the struggle. He is in the
middle of it. It's not peace. It is not comfort.
It is confrontation and communion with God at
the same time. And let's be honest, we know what
it's like to wrestle with something that just
won't change. We see something wrong in our life,
in our world. We know it's not the way that it's
supposed to be. We ache for the change, but nothing
changes. But then sometimes we just stop praying.
We stop believing. We stop wrestling. That's
the thing about human nature. Journey may say,
don't stop believing, and yet we oftentimes do.
It's like that line from The Terminator, not
the I'll be back. But rather, it's in your nature
to destroy yourselves. For a world that knows
what AI can do and still pursues it, we do that
spiritually, giving up on the very things that
keep us alive because we didn't get what we wanted
when we wanted it. we quit going back to the
one who can bless us. But God calls us to keep
clinging because when the path is revealed, when
the blessing does come, we'll know it was only
His doing, not ours. But you know, there's something
funny in this passage. You see, when we read
our English translation, we read, the man saw
that he did not prevail against Jacob. Did you
know that's not what the Hebrew says? What it
actually says is, when he saw that he did not
prevail against him. It doesn't tell us who he
is. Who is he? Who is him? Is it the man who
couldn't prevail against Jacob? Or is it actually
Jacob who realized he couldn't prevail against
the man? Both masculine. If it's the first, if
it's that the man couldn't prevail against Jacob,
which we oftentimes assume, then it shows the
tenacity of Jacob's faith. He simply refuses
to let go until God blesses him. But what if
it were the second? What if Jacob realized he
could not prevail against the man? Because then
that's the moment of surrender. when Jacob realizes
he cannot win by his own power, and he finally
clings in dependence on God. Because either way,
faith looks the same. The moment that you know
you cannot win, but you still won't let go. When
the man touches Jacob's hip and dislocates it,
it's not an act of cruelty, it's consecration.
Because a single touch from God is enough to
remind Jacob that he is not God's equal. The
limp is his testimony for the rest of his life.
I met God and I lived. Because that wound, it's
not a punishment. It's transformation. It's breaking
the reliance upon yourself. Jacob cannot run
anymore. He can't fight, he can only cling. The
one who used his cunning and his control throughout
his life must now depend entirely on grace. And
through that weakness, God gives him a new name,
Yisra 'el. The one who strives with God. Because
the wound and the name, they come together. You
do not get a new name. without the struggle.
He is marked and renamed by God at the same time.
Every step after that, it is the sermon of his
life. The blessing did not come from his strength,
but because of the mercy of God in his weakness.
This is what we often miss. Wrestling, it's not
just resistance, it is formation. When a father
wrestles with his child, it's not because of
some emotional need to defeat the child, it's
actually helping them grow. Maybe you find that
one or two off, but by and large, it's to build
coordination, courage, and confidence. So what's
happening in Jacob's story, he's wrestling with
God because of preparation. for what is about
to come with his brother. He's being strengthened
for the reconciliation that awaits him with Esau.
The struggle in the dark is shaping him for the
light that is about to come. Because yes, wrestling
feels like opposition, but sometimes it's invitation.
And the man is trying to get away, not because
he is scared of Jacob, But because when the light
comes, then Jacob would see Him, and no one can
see God and live. The Father is calling us to
engage, to push, to grow, to become the people
who can stand in the day ahead. Because through
the wrestling, we become people who can withstand
what is coming. People who can live in blessing
without forgetting the One who gave it. Because
when Jacob rises from that encounter, he walks
differently, not just because of the limp, but
because he has changed. He sees Esau differently.
He sees his family differently. He sees himself
differently. That night's wrestling wasn't just
about him. It was about what God was going to
do through him. The blessing of God is never
only personal, it's also communal. Because your
limp might be a testimony that someone else needs
to see. Your struggle might be the very place
where God is bringing healing to others. The
places where you could not prevail might become
the places where God's strength is prevailing
through you. Because maybe faith isn't about
winning a match. Maybe it's about refusing to
let go. Even when you know you cannot prevail
because you trust the One who holds you in the
struggle. See, we are people who don't let go
easily. It's not of God and not of faith and
not of hope and not of one another. When we see
something broken we don't give up We pray we
wrestle we cling We wrestle in prayer we persist
in love we cling to grace Because that's who
we are called to be as people of God One day
when the dawn breaks in your life and the blessing
comes then you get to look back, limping maybe,
but knowing that you've seen God and you've lived
and that you have been strengthened by being
weakened. Because the limp is our witness. We've
seen God and the blessing is not because we know
we're stronger than Him, but because we know
we've been loved by Him. There we are with that
key. Do you keep turning? Are you willing to
keep trying? Because you know that's the right
key. Keep turning it. Keep asking. Keep clinging.
Because the God who meets us in the struggle
is the God who delights in those who will not
let go. So keep turning, keep clinging, not because
you've mastered the right combination, but because
you are with the One who opens the door when
He is ready for you to do through. And when you
walk through, you will know that the blessing
was His doing all along. And through you, that
blessing will ripple outward. to a community,
a people, and a world that God is still redeeming
through the suffering He was willing to have
for us. In Jesus' name, Amen.