Wrestling with God Is His Invitation to Go Deeper

Wrestling is a close-contact sport. Two opponents are locked together gripping, resisting, and refusing to let go. So if you feel like you’re wrestling with God right now – if you’re experiencing an intense spiritual struggle related to perceived tensions between God’s character, God’s promises, and our current circumstances – take heart: He’s closer than you think, holding tighter than you know. 

In Genesis 32:22–28, we encounter Jacob in the middle of a literal and spiritual struggle. It’s the longest night of his life and one that forever changes him. His story reminds us that seasons of struggle are not signs of God’s absence, but often the places where He does His deepest work. 

Spiritual struggles become the lens through which God reveals His will. Jacob’s wrestling teaches us three important truths about our own faith struggles: 

1. Spiritual Struggle Brings Us to the End of Ourselves. 

By the time we meet Jacob in Genesis 32, he has spent twenty years running from his past. He manipulated his brother Esau, deceived his father Isaac, and schemed his way forward wherever possible. Now, he’s headed home — and Esau is coming to meet him, bringing 400 men with him! 

Terrified and out of options, Jacob sends his wives, children, servants, and possessions across the river and remains alone. For the first time in his life, he has nothing left to manipulate and no one left to lean on. 

That’s where God meets him. 

Sometimes God allows us to reach the end of our rope so we’ll finally realize He’s been holding it the whole time. As long as we believe we can manage things ourselves, we rarely experience the depth of dependence real faith requires. 

2. Spiritual Struggle Transforms Our Identity. 

Jacob wrestles through the night and refuses to let go without a blessing. God “touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled” and asks him a curious question: “What is your name?” (v. 25). Not because God doesn’t know — but because Jacob needs to say it. 

“Jacob” means trickster. Deceiver. Supplanter. It’s a confession of who he’s been. 

Only when Jacob names his old identity does God give him a new one. God renames him Israel — “one who struggles with God.” Jacob walks away limping but no longer defined by his past. He carries both a wound and a blessing. 

It’s only when we’re honest about who we’ve been that God can reveal who we’re becoming. Our struggles don’t disqualify us from God’s purposes; they’re often the very tools He uses to reshape us. 

3. Spiritual Struggle Prepares Us for What Lies Ahead. 

The next day, Jacob still must face Esau, but he approaches him differently — no longer scheming or manipulating but humbly approaching in love with a willingness to make things right. Instead of revenge, Esau runs to embrace him.  

God doesn’t always remove the challenges in front of us, but the struggle we experience beforehand changes how we face them. What feels like delay or hardship is often preparation. 

If you’re wrestling with God right now, don’t assume something is wrong with you. Don’t let go too quickly. Your struggle is His invitation to go deeper by allowing His grip of grace to mold you into the person He sees you to be. 

You may walk away limping. But you’ll also walk away blessed. 

This post is inspired by message four of our “Going Deeper with God” sermon series by Dr. Jody Ray.