Why is life so hard?

Why do bad things happen to me?

Why am I being bombarded by tough stuff?

We wrestle with God in our minds when we don’t understand.  We have questions.  We have frustrations.  We have fears.

In Genesis 32, we read about Jacob’s wrestling match with God.  They physically wrestled – all night.

Have you ever wrestled with God in your mind all night?  I have.  Thoughts swirling.  Stuck in frustration.  Questions flying around.  Emotions rolling.

When the sun rose for Jacob in the morning, God changed Jacob’s name to Israel ‘because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome..”

Then God blessed Israel.  God also wrenched Israel (Jacob’s) hip out of its socket while they were wrestling and Israel limped the rest of his life – evidence of his successful wrestling with God.

Like Israel,  I want to have evidence in my life that I have successfully wrestled with God.  I want to overcome my misunderstandings and frustrations and fears.  I want to be blessed.  I want a ‘limp’.

So I need to follow Israel’s example of not giving up,

not giving in,

not wandering away,

using all my strength to stay in the game,

keeping my heart and soul focused on God – not matter the cost.

That’s my plan.

What’s your’s?

Please give us a ‘limp’, Abba Father.