Wellness Series: You've Got to Let God Wrestle with You! (Part 2)

Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day (Genesis 32:24).

John Travis, M.D., in his The Wellness Workbook, identifies key areas where we maintain our health.  From personal experience, I have added others to list 14 benchmarks of health.  Today we are continuing from Part 1 tackling Health is knowing what your real needs are and how to get them met1.

In Part 1, I asked you, “How much are you giving to the Lord?”  What is your answer?  What you need to understand is basically this: The more you give, the more He gives to you.  It is not by works that you “buy from God” His mercy, favor, and love.

And when Simon saw that through the laying on of hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money . . . . But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! (Read Acts 8:9-24).

Many folks believe that the more offerings and tithes and doing good works they do, it’s like receiving marks in heaven; and that if they acquire enough marks, then they have “bought” their way in to God’s Grace.  But 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 clearly indicates that our works will be “revealed by fire”—that means God will judge the intent, the why, of what you did in your giving.  Did you give for fame like Ananias and his wife Sapphira in Acts 5?  Did you give out of guilt to clear yourself from the sin(s) you committed: “If I give to this charity or buy a car for my pastor, then God will forgive me.”

Or, did you give to justify yourself as Jacob did: “Well Lord, I gave my uncle 20 years of my labor and he tricked me all the while, so I’m leaving. I must also deal with my brother as I travel back home because I tricked him out of his birthright by giving him soup to eat; and he hates me for it, so I will give him gifts through my wives and children I send ahead of me in hope that he won’t kill me, but rather forgive me.”  And God looked down from heaven upon Jacob; and perhaps said to Himself, “That’s enough!  This deceptive giving and taking has got to stop.” Then the wrestling began throughout the night.

The night is a time of struggle with the inner you—with your bad choices, bad habits, bad character, bad anything which blocks your beautiful and good relationship with God, your Father.  From our previous conversation in Part 1, this is the trench of deep introspection: facing difficult truths about yourself and needing to dig deep into your inner self to find strength and resolve to change and conform into the image of Christ.

When God shows you who you are through His eyes and reflects that image back into your own, you may hate what you see.  Perhaps, as a believer in Christ, you see yourself as the most beautiful and righteous of God’s children; yet to God, you may look like a hollowed out whitewashed tomb with a heart of charcoal whose hands you yourself have to force open (through the appearance of sincere giving, when actually your heart hates giving without receiving something in return) so that others can say, “You are good.”

Jacob was forced to wrestle with his inner issues with God; and it seemed like there would be a draw, except for one sure thing: As big as your pride puffs you up in your own eyes, God will break you down at point where you’ll always be reminded of just how weak you are. He touched Jacob’s hip socket and put it out of joint. With this injury, Jacob would think twice before moving anywhere quickly with deceitful intentions.

Paul talked about his own “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7) which reminded him to stay humble. Apostle Paul ascribed his “thorn in the flesh” as a messenger of Satan to buffet him—to stop him from winning souls to Christ.  But Paul rather used that “thorn” to check himself from becoming arrogant (puffed up) because God gave him a gift of abundance of revelations to be used for the increase of His Kingdom.  This “thorn” reminded Paul that he was not God or even equal to God, but that he was a mere man carrying the grace—the mercy, favor, and love—of God.

Jacob’s thorn was given to him by God Himself as a reminder not to exalt himself as the “cleverest” of all men because he could manipulate people with trickery and deceit to get his own needs met.  He’d always be reminded that he must use his brilliant mind for the good of his people and for the increase of God’s Kingdom; then God would provide him with all his needs, freely—without trickery or deceit (Philippians 4:19). 

Maybe your “thorn” is that you don’t have tons of cash at hand because it would change you into an overbearing stingy “monster” to the needy as you hoard your wealth arrogantly over others “buying” their affection and favor. Instead, God will provide you with enough cash to get you over the hurdles, one at a time, until you’ve reached money management maturity for the good of everyone He places into your life. 

Or perhaps your “thorn” could be a close loved one, especially a spouse or a parent, who leaves you so that you would have to pick yourself up and live without clinging to his/her hand, always the dependent.  The “thorn” is the pain you feel of that loved one’s absence.  Now you’ll have to move out on your own carrying the lessons he/she taught you and make your life work out for the good of God’s Kingdom plan.

God will make you feel a “pain” as He extracts any unrighteousness (what is not right) out of you—as He circumcises your heart and grafts you back into His.  This is called chastening. Then your giving and your works will not be in vain, but will beat with God’s heart and intent.  And your receiving from God will surely be blessings immeasurable that take care of all your needs on earth as it was always planned from heaven.

If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons [and daughters], for what son [or daughter] is there whom a father does not chasten? For they [human fathers] indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it (Read Hebrews 12:5-11).

And with that injury (that pain, that thorn), the wrestling match ceased; yet Jacob refused to let go of God.

PRAY WITHOUT CEASING

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1.     Travis, J. (1977). The Wellness Workbook. Mill Valley, CA, USA: Wellness Resource Center.