WRESTLING WITH GOD

Figures in the Old Testament argue with God. They remind him of his promises, they bargain, they plead, they even literally wrestle with Him. They have a real relationship with Him. Why don’t we? Oftentimes, it’s because we make God a part of our life instead of making our life a part of God. We go to Church, worship God, grab some brunch, head home, take a nap and watch Netflix. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that… except we left God back at Church. We might touch base with Him in prayer, or by reading Scripture, but there are chunks of our life in which we live without Him. Or at least, where we don’t want to deal with Him… and definitely where we don’t want Him dealing with us. Then, when we check back in with him the following Sunday, we are awed by his presence and sometimes made painfully aware of our failures. How could we possibly come to him as anything but a supplicant? How can we wrestle with God when we come to the weigh-in out of shape, weighed down by our sin? What right do I have to complain? But if we first realize that God is always with us and orient our lives so that we are always focused on Him, then he will naturally be a party to our every concern, no matter how petty.

God is more than willing to meet us in the ring, in whatever weight class we’re most comfortable in. If we’re totally God-focused, then when that spider in the bathroom sink scares you, and there’s no one to kill it for you, you’ll know He’s there with you. Not to take care of things for you, but to be in relationship with you. Trusting in God means also trusting in our relationship with Him. If we really, truly, believe in God’s love for us, then we should also trust that we can whine and whinge with the assurance that He will listen to us and still love us. Our relationship with God can be directly measured by how much of our life and ourselves is open to Him. If we hesitate to pray about our real desires, our real concerns, then our relationship with God will always be either in the formal, arm’s length variety or in the superficial, put on a happy face kind. So, go ahead, grab your singlet, put in your mouthguard, and get ready to meet God in the squared circle.