Wrestling With God
by Chad Nathan
When reading about how Jacob was wrestling with God, it really hit me because in a lot of ways I see myself there too. Not truly seeking God’s guidance or waiting patiently on Him, but wrestling with Him, trying to make Him bend to my way.
We do that a lot don’t we? We bring God our plans and expectations and our timelines and tell God that’s the way it should be. We bargain with God and argue in prayer and sometimes we even get angry when it doesn’t line up with our vision. We wrestle with God trying to force our will when we should be trusting His.
When we try to make God follow our plan, we’re missing the whole point. His ways are higher than ours and faith requires us to let go of control.
We have to trust God to lead us even when it’s uncomfortable, unexpected, or seems to be moving slow.
I’m learning to let go of my grip, to stop the negotiation and instead trust that God’s way is the best way.
Victory is not getting God to bend his will to what I want, it’s me bending toward what He wants.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight.” - Proverbs 3:5-6
Best prayer I ever prayed: (been praying it pretty much daily for decades:
“Nevertheless, Father…….not my will, but Thine.”
My forgetful human mind and heart needs to be constantly reminded who’s in charge here.
It’s a great gift to be dis-illusioned—-and have God dissolve the illusion that we’re “in control.”
We’re not even breathing under our own power…..