By Lisa S. Tarno

Are we curious enough to inquire, “What am I to learn from THIS?” Are we bold enough to insist on getting a blessing from the tough things we must endure? My inspiration for today’s article came from a bizarre passage in the Bible (see Genesis 32:24-32). The patriarch, Jacob,  wrestled with a [divine] man and was able to stay strong through the match in order to have the said man concede winning. As a result, Jacob’s hip was wrenched out of its socket. But, before he released the man he dared to ask that he would be “blessed”. The [divine] man had the authority to bless him and give him a name change (cue in destiny trajectory). His persistence paid off.

Turn the page with me and ponder the application of the story. I can’t further explain the passage as I have already labeled it bizarre. There are many strange things written in the Bible that I do not fully understand and hope one day that I will but suffice it to say there is a learning principle to be applied and that comes from my introductory questions. In our lives we will struggle, or shall I say wrestle, with a great many things. Our wrestling is the journey part of getting to our destination. There are things to discover about ourselves, others, life in general with all that we go through. Are we curious enough to reflect on what we just experienced good or bad to wonder what is to be learned from it? Do we take the time to even think about such things?

Then the other part of my “aha!” … If we have a relationship with the God of the universe, the one true God, do we dare to ask for a blessing from that we just struggled with once we get on the other side of it? Or do we consider just getting through the struggle blessing enough? I have to say I am admiring Jacob’s tenacity and boldness to ask for a blessing in the midst of his wrestling. It brings to mind a New Testament passage found in James 4:2 “…you have not, because you ask not.” Jacob clearly knew to ask and he got it!

But…do we? Dare we? Here’s my take on it, I feel you can ask God ANYTHING! He may or may not grant our request but ask away. Is it sacrilegious to ask for a blessing on top of getting through our ordeals in life? Short answer, no. There’s a beautiful passage in Isaiah 45:3 that speaks of obtaining treasures in darkness and riches stored in secret places. Personally, I have applied this particular verse to recap the “plunder” I took from my hard learning experiences brought on by struggle or wrestling. The lessons themselves became the treasures of darkness and riches stored in secret places. You see, I would have not obtained that lesson and all the wisdom I gained but by wrestling and sometimes being in a very dark place!

In the purest sense, the blessing is both the eventual deliverance from the struggle and the wisdom obtained. However there is one more aspect to this bizarre story. Jacob was left with a wrenched hip after the struggle. How true of us and ours too in that a lot of times we are no longer the same person we were before as we are coming through a struggle. We have scars that identify us and mark us as being just a little altered and different…hopefully in a good way. 

I journaled about the wrenched hip aspect. Why was that important? My take away was that sometimes the things we go through have a lasting impact on us. Yes, God can heal and redeem all things but sometimes the scar is left to remind us of not only the struggle but also God’s provision and blessing too. He uses all our pain for a purpose. No one gets out of planet earth being unscathed by life. No one! It matters how we process it and decide to live with the new found wisdom.