Howdy. Right over there on the side, right by
the playground, there is a lock on that gate.
It is possibly the most annoying lock that I've
ever had to deal with in my life. I put this
key in there, and I'm trying to unlock it, and
it won't turn. And I'm checking, and I'm like,
is this the right, yes, this is the right key,
and I try again. And then I jiggle it. And I'm
kind of wiggling a little bit there and 10, 12,
15 times and it will not open. And I'm just frustrated
until finally the 21st time that I try to turn
it and it opens. You've got the right key in
your hand. Maybe it's old, maybe it's worn a
little bit, it's a little too smooth, you had
to jiggle it a lot to get it to turn. But you
keep trying because deep down inside you know
it's the right key. It fits. It belongs there.
You just have to keep turning. You have to keep
trying. You have to keep holding on until it
finally clicks. We do this all the time in everyday
life. Parents have to do this when they keep
showing up for their kids. Even when it feels
like, I don't know that I'm getting through.
I don't know that anything's changing, but you're
still there time and time again for them. Or
whenever people have to do this at work and they're
trying to do right by someone that they work
with who just keeps responding poorly and just
banging your head on this saying, when will the
way that I am doing things get what I am hoping
for? And it's the same thing that Jesus is talking
about in Luke 18 today. The story of the persistent
widow who keeps coming before the unjust judge.
The judge is supposed to be doing the right thing.
He's supposed to be taking care of her needs
and giving her what is right. But he refuses.
And you don't know why. But she doesn't stop
because she believes there is something just,
something right, something worth clinging to.
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
God is 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, to keep clinging to Him?
You see, This happens all the time, but it's
also on the kids side, too You know kids know
which parent is going to give in Sorry mom They
don't even bother going to the other one first
because they know that they're gonna say no they
know Which one is going to say yes, and that's
where they start because they know which door
is gonna open they persist until it does because
they know that's the parent who's gonna give
them the candy that they want and Same thing
can happen at work oftentimes everybody knows
that one manager or co -worker that will eventually
Get what it is that you want. They're not even
nervous about asking They know that if they go
the usual path. It's gonna be a no Probably for
good reason, but if they just go to this one
direction persistence will get them what they
want. In the world, we believe in persistence.
We believe in negotiation, effort, repetition.
But when it comes to God, we start to wonder,
is He even listening? Am I saying it right? He's
not giving me what I want. Do I have to get the
combination just right for God to finally respond?
And that's where we get it confused. Because
often, instead of seeing God as the key to the
lock, is instead we start treating our prayers
like a combination lock. We start thinking that
with God we have to enter the right combination
of what do I do? How do I pray? How should I
live? Which people should be in my life? And
then we over and over again keep wondering what
we've been doing wrong, but Y 'all, God is not
a combination lock. This is not something where
He's waiting for us to have the exact right words
or perform the right perfect formula where you
turn the lock and you're like, oh, that didn't
work. Maybe I got the numbers out of order. He
isn't looking for the right combination from
us. He is the key. And He invites us to keep
clinging to Him, not because we've figured Him
out. but because we trust Him that He will turn
when it is the time to open the door to us. And
that is why we come to Jacob's story today. The
man who literally wrestled with God. There are
days whenever I wake up and I wonder what do
I have to do today? Do I need to get the sermon
written? Do I need to go meet with somebody that
doesn't want the same goals I do? Do I need to
make sure that I have taken care of all these
tasks? I don't wake up and think to myself, today
I am going to find God in the middle of the wilderness
and grab Him and wrestle. Jacob, though, spends
the entire night grappling with the mysterious
figure. A man, the Hebrew says, though it's clear
this is no ordinary man. Jacob is about to see
his brother Esau the next day. The very brother
that he had cheated out of his entire inheritance.
The brother he ran away from. The brother who
was always bigger and stronger. And in the midst
of that anxiety, the frustration, but some guy
comes along in the middle of the night. And you
know that moment where you don't really care
who or what it is? And you are going to get into
it with them because they're there. And he wrestles
all night long and refuses to let go. Even when
his hip is thrown out of joint, Jacob still clings
to him and says, I will not let you go until
you bless me. That's faith. It's the faith of
knowing that if I hold on, you will bless me
one way or another. It's not tidy. It's not polite.
It's not what we learn in confirmation with our
catechism. It is desperate. It is clinging. It
is the faith that cannot let go. It's the faith
that says, I don't understand everything, but
I'm not letting go of you for one second. And
the limp that Jacob carries afterward, becomes
His testimony. Because every step He takes reminds
Him of that night, of that struggle, of the pain,
the encounter, but also the blessing. See, the
Hebrew, though, it doesn't tell us a lot about
this person. It says, ha 'ish, aleph, yod, shin,
a man. But the identity unfolds itself over time.
Jacob later said in verse 30, I have seen God
face to face and yet my life is preserved. So
the Jewish and Christian teachers understood
this is a theophany. This is a visible appearance
of God. The angel of the Lord representing God's
presence in tangible form. But others also see
the outward expression of Jacob's lifelong inner
struggle. His brother wasn't the only one that
he had dealt with. His father, who always loved
the older brother more than him. His uncle, who
managed to trick him into marrying the wrong
person. And then now with God himself. He's always
wrestled to control his own destiny. And now
he meets the one that he cannot manipulate. Even
as in Hosea 12 it says he strove with the angel
and prevailed. He wept and sought his favor because
the prophet frames this wrestling match with
an angelic being as a representative of God's
will and blessing. Because this is God meeting
Jacob in the struggle. Not in peace, not in comfort,
but in confrontation and communion at the same
time. Frankly, we know what it's like. to wrestle
with something that won't change. We see something
that's wrong in our life or in the world around
us, and we know it's not supposed to be that
way. We ache for change, but nothing changes.
After a while though, maybe we stop praying because
God didn't seem to hear us. We stop believing
because what are we believing in? We stopped
wrestling because, well, we already lost. So
maybe we just let go. You know, a friend of mine
said earlier this week that it reminded him of
a line from The Terminator, you know, the giant
cyborg robot coming along and killing everybody.
Now, you might think, oh, it's Arnold Schwarzenegger
saying, I'll be back. But it's actually a better
phrase. It is in your nature to destroy yourselves.
Isn't that so very true? And not just in a world
where every day we find out that AI is getting
smarter and could very well destroy us all, and
yet we still keep using it every single day.
But also what we do spiritually. Giving up on
the very thing that would keep us alive when
we quit going back to the One who does bless
us. Because when the path is revealed, when the
blessing does come, then we'll know it was His
doing all along. You know, I've got to tell you
something though about this passage. There was
something I had a chance to study a little bit
in college. The Hebrew text where it says, when
the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob.
And I need to tell you something. It's not what
the Hebrew says. The Hebrew says when he saw
that he did not prevail against him. How do you
know who it is? There's a lot of pronouns in
there. And there's a lot of masculinity happening
in this particular story. But they guessed they'd
assume it because of what they saw later on.
But is it the man who couldn't prevail against
Jacob? Or is it Jacob who realized he couldn't
prevail against the man? They're both struggling
the whole night, right? If it's the first one,
the one that we keep assuming in the English
translation, then it shows the tenacity of Jacob's
faith. He simply refuses to let go until God
blesses him. the way that we all should. But
what if it were the second? What if Jacob saw
he did not prevail against the man? Because then
it would reveal the moment of surrender. When
Jacob realizes he cannot win on his own, and
instead clings not to win, but independence.
Because either way, Faith shows us it's the moment
when you know you cannot win but you still won't
let go See that when the man touches Jacob's
hip and dislocates it It's not an act of cruelty
It's actually consecration It's a single touch
from God. That's enough to remind Jacob that
he is not God's equal the limp is a lifelong
testimony and said, I met God not that I won,
but rather that I lived. The wound is not a punishment.
It's a transformation. It's the breaking of his
reliance on himself. It is the part where he
no longer thinks, I know how to handle this situation
because he doesn't. Jacob can't run anymore.
How could he? He can't fight. All he can do is
cling. And the one who used cunning and control
must now depend entirely on grace. And in that
weakness, that's when God gave him His new name,
Israel. When was Jacob ready to be the father
of a nation? It's when he became the one who
strives with God. It's through the weakness that
He received His name because the wound and the
name came together. It marked Him and renamed
Him at the same time. And every step after that
was a sermon that the blessing didn't come from
His strength. It came from God's mercy. It's
not that we get the blessing when we're done
with the striving. It's the blessing that comes
because of it. You know, one of the things that
we often miss is that wrestling, it's not just
resistance, it's formation. You know how often
times a parent is wrestling with their child?
And sometimes, every once in a while there's
some goofy character that, I don't know, is doing
the wrong thing. But sometimes people might say,
What, are you trying to win over the child? How
immature is that? But that's not why parents
wrestle with their child. When a parent wrestles
with their child, it's not to defeat the child.
It's to help them grow. It builds coordination,
courage, confidence. A friend of mine was telling
me about being in wrestling and saying, well,
technically the person you're wrestling, that's
your opponent. And it's like, yes, true. But
when the match is done, you still go out for
pizza afterward. Because the thing is that oftentimes
the wrestling is not because that's the life
and death, but that it's when we are strengthened
for the fights that are. Because the thing is
that whenever something gives us a chance to
be built up, it is for our good. And that's what's
happening in Jacob's story. His wrestling with
God is preparation. He's being strengthened for
the reconciliation that awaits him with Esau.
When he sees his brother and he realizes how
weak he truly is, then he has to go to him and
hope and pray for mercy. And that's what he receives
from his brother. But from then on He is now
prepared for what is to come See the struggle
in the dark is shaping him for the light that's
coming Because here's the thing about the man
Trying to finish the battle before the Sun rose
Because if the Sun were to rise Jacob would see
him and no one can see God and live because maybe
God is causing you to wrestle because it's the
only way to help you survive what is to come
next. So yes, wrestling feels like opposition,
but sometimes it's invitation. The Father calls
us to engage, to push, to grow, to become the
people who can stand in the day ahead. Because
through the wrestling, we become the people who
can withstand. People who can live in blessing
without forgetting the one who gave it. Because
when Jacob rises, he is now different. Not just
because of the limp, but because of who he is.
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 would do through him. See, the
blessing of God, it's never about just one person.
It's always about what's happening as a community.
Maybe you're realizing the limp that you are
getting because of the struggles you're having.
Maybe that is supposed to be a testimony to someone
who is to come. Maybe your struggle might be
the very place that God is actually going to
heal someone else. Maybe when you're finally
willing to look yourself in the mirror and say
something isn't right, and something has to change,
maybe that's not you losing. Maybe it's the first
time when God is finally going to use you so
that He will win. Because the places where you
could prevail, but you didn't, might become the
places where God's strength is what finally prevails
through you. Because faith is not about winning.
It's about refusing to let go. To the only one
where life and hope truly exists. Even when you
know you can't prevail because He's the one that
you trust. So today, we are the people who are
not meant to let go easily. Let's be honest.
We've been through a lot for a while now. But
the wrestling is not because of whether or not
we have won. The wrestling is about what God
has been doing in us so that we're ready for
whatever is to come. Not in me. In you. Because
it can never be about one person. When we see
something broken, let us not give up. Let us
pray. Let us wrestle. Let us cling in prayer,
in love, to grace. Because when the dawn breaks
and the blessing comes, we will look at the limp
and know that we have seen God and lived. Because
the limp is our witness. The limp is the blessing.
So may we keep turning that key knowing that
that's the one that's meant to be. May we keep
clinging to our God who wrestles with us, not
to harm us, but to make us ready. And may we
realize that it's not mastering the right combination,
but knowing the one who holds the door and keeps
it open. So when we walk through with our limp,
May we know the blessing that has been there
all along and may that blessing ripple outward
to our community, to our nation and to a world
that God is still redeeming. Thanks be to God.