God in the Dark
Stop. Take a deep breath—3 seconds in, 6 seconds out. Good. Now do it again. Keep breathing deeply. Gracious God we ask you to help us examine our hearts and lives throughout this devotion time. Amen.
Listen. Genesis 32:24-26
24 Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.”
Reflect.
Jacob has wrestled all night with this mysterious man whom he refers to as God afterward. The two are exhausted. It’s a draw. Jacob’s opponent asks to be let go. Jacob holds on until he gets a blessing. In the Lutheran tradition we often talk about God holding onto us or God never giving up on us. In this story it’s Jacob who holds onto God. Perhaps this is faith.
Jacob’s circumstance is dire. As mentioned in the previous devotion, both of Jacob’s options (stay with Uncle Laban, move forward and into his brother Esau + Esau’s 400 men) are impossible and would likely not end well for him (he believes).
Perhaps you have found yourself in an impossible situation accompanied by a night or more of restless sleep. Struggling with a relationship, diagnosis, loss, circumstance, decision, or otherwise. No matter where you look the options are not life-giving.
Yet Jacob holds onto God and fights for a blessing. Why? Because even in our darkest moments God still gives us something of value. Even in our darkest moments God still says we are valuable. God gives us God’s self. Yes, we may still walk away with a limp but that is faith. To have been through the ringer of this life and still come out trusting God.
Pray. Gracious God, show your presence to us in the midst of challenging circumstances. Help us hold onto you even when all else is failing. Send us with your blessing that we might be a blessing to others. Amen.
Carry on. How about instead of wrestling with your colleagues, family members, or friends, you just give them a blessing (and skip the wrestling)? Tell them this: Remember that Jesus loves you and so do I. Amen. OR simply say “I’m so glad you’re my [insert their place in your life—colleague, sibling, friend, etc.]”.