Wrestling with God

In middle school, my son wrestled.  Have you ever witnessed your child wrestle another opponent?  It’s like you are the one on the mat being twisted into a pretzel.  Some of those wrestling moves look painful to this mama. Then there is the constant drive to win. At the first wrestling match my son was wrestling in, I witnessed a middle schooler from another school body slam his opponent.  I think my heart stopped.  

How often do we wrestle with God? In the Bible, Jacob literally wrestled with God in Genesis 32 (Genesis 32:22-32).  Habakkuk was one of the twelve minor prophets, and Habakkuk means “to wrestle, to embrace both at the same time”.  The book of Habakkuk was written to the people of Judah and asked some hard, honest questions to God.  

When we focus on something we want – not necessarily what God has planned for us or in store for us, just what we think we want – the wrestling match begins.

Habakkuk exhibits faith in chapter 2 when he goes up to the watchtower to wait on God’s judgment against the Babylonians.  Judgment on the Babylonians would take place in the future.  That is hard for us humans to grasp, we want things here and now.  Yet, Habakkuk knew his God and knew His goodness, so he waited. In Habakkuk 2 the Lord responds to Habakkuk for the second time regarding his complaints. 

“And the Lord answered me: ‘Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.  For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.’”

Appointed time in Hebrew is “mow’ed”, which means God is mow’ed.  He is never late, He is never early, and He is always on time.  He is mow’ed. 

It doesn’t matter how much we try to wrestle God into our way of thinking, nor how much we try to convince Him, barter, beg, or plead for what we want and when we want it.  None of that changes our God or His timing.  God has bigger plans for us.  Maybe we wrestle with Him because we are comfortable right where we are, but God is calling us to step out in faith.  

Heart racing, body contorting, what would it look like if I surrendered to God?  Surrendered to His way, His will, His timing instead of wrestling with Him?

God is good and He is faithful.  His plans are far better than anything we can imagine.

Reference: Hitchcock, Roswell D. “Entry for ‘Habakkuk’”. “An Interpreting Dictionary of Scripture Proper Names”. . New York, N.Y., 1869. 

1. What are you currently wrestling with God over?
2. Leave a comment so I can pray for you today.