So Jacob was left all alone, and there a man wrestled with him until daybreak. Genesis 32:24
The Hebrew word for wrestle is 'abaq' and one of the meanings is 'to get dusty'. Lysa TerKeurst in her book "It's Not Supposed to be This Way" uses the imagery of broken pottery being crushed to dust then reformed to create something new, remade in a stronger vessel.
Jacob wrestles and the wrestle is a hinge between his old identity, a man who helps himself and his new identity, a man rooted in the grace covenant of the Living God. Jacob walks away from the wrestling battered but blessed. Jacob held tightly in a moment of crushing, he persevered for the promise and met divine blessing.
Perhaps in that moment Jacob had much fear and anxiety as he was entering back into his home territory not knowing how Esau will respond to his returning. Unanswered questions and fierce petitions can coexist with reverence. Lasting change often follows seasons of struggle and authentic power proceeds from yielded, even wounded vessels.
Lesson 25: Wounds become lifelong reminders of grace, emerging transformed.
