Have you ever been so weary that you said, “I cannot take another step”? Have you awakened in the morning and refused to open your eyes because you still felt exhausted?
Pain can do that. It can weaken us to the point that we’re immobile. It can fill our heart with so much darkness that we can’t feel the sun’s warmth. It can twist our faith in God into a tangle of doubt. You’re not the only one who has felt that way. I’ve been there. So have many others.
The Bible records many stories about people who reached that point. One of them was Jacob. In Genesis 32, Jacob was on the run again—he had left a bad situation with his father-in-law and was headed back to his birthplace, where his brother Esau lived. Yes, that brother—the one who had wanted to kill him.
Jacob sent servants and livestock ahead, hoping to diffuse whatever anger Esau still harbored against him. And that night, Scripture says, “Jacob was left alone”—with his doubts, with his fears (Genesis 32:24). He may have been questioning God’s goodness, purpose, and plan for his life. He may have felt as if God had left him alone to face his estranged brother.
You may feel that way about your situation too. Satan may be whispering, “Surely if God loved you, this wouldn’t be happening to you.” Don’t listen to his lie. God’s love is real—unconditional and unending. As the prophet Jeremiah wrote during his own dark season: “Though [God] brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love” (Lamentations 3:32).
God hasn’t abandoned you anymore than he had abandoned Jacob. On that same night, when Jacob was at a breaking point, “a man wrestled with him till daybreak” (Genesis 32:24). Was this man an angel or God Himself? The Bible doesn’t say, but many believe it was God in human form.
After many hours, the man “touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched” (v. 25). Jacob was forever changed in this battle. And although the pain was probably excruciating, Jacob held on to the man and said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (v. 26).
In response, the man gave him a new name: Israel. Jacob had always been known as a deceiver, but after this experience, Jacob was known as the one who struggled with God. And Jacob’s new name became the name of God’s people.
The name change demonstrated God’s promise-keeping goodness at work—the sign that the promise given to Abraham in Genesis 12:1—“I will make you into a great nation”— would be fulfilled in Jacob’s twelves sons and their descendants.
God’s goodness can also be seen in Jacob’s dislocated hip. The limp that resulted from the injury became a lifelong reminder of his dependency on God and God’s faithfulness. The struggle and the injury brought good—not only to Jacob but also to his descendants down through the centuries and to us who follow Christ now.
Your current struggle and its wounds can also bring about good. If you can’t see any goodness, then ask God to adjust your perspective. Don’t be surprised if a wrestling match follows. But remain confident that blessings will follow too.