Do You Wrestle with Decisions?

Pastor Renee Ford

Pastor Renee Ford, who is recovering from shoulder surgery, blessed us this morning with a sermon on "Wrestling" from Genesis 29:15-28. This sermon finishes her 10-week series on "The Dog Days of Summer."

Before she started her sermon, she asked the congregation if they wrestled with their brothers and sisters when they were growing up.

I grew up on a farm where I had to wrestle calves to get them back into their stalls when they escaped from the barn. When the opponent is stronger than you are, it's hard to hang on and stand your ground.

Pastor Renee was trying to lead us into another realm of thinking about times we wrestle with decisions, whether small or hard ones, and how the outcomes may prepare us for something bigger later.

Jacob and an angel wrestling

In the above cited Biblical passage, Jacob wrestled many hours during the nighttime with a traveling stranger, an angel directed by God. As dawn approached, the stranger asked Jacob to let him go, but Jacob wouldn't let him go until the stranger blessed him.  The stranger blessed Jacob with the name "Israel" which means "One Who Strives with God." The stranger then touched Jacob's hip socket which threw his hip out of joint causing Jacob to let go.

How would God use Jacob who had stolen his brother's birthright? Jacob could not get to where he needed to be to do God's work unless this wrestling match happened. In the end, Jacob was given a new name which would be a significant part of his journey.

Why do we wrestle with decisions?

Is it God's way of inspiring our faith journey? Is God preparing us for something bigger that we don't know about?

Pastor Renee Ford is the pastor for Grays United Methodist Church, Houserville House of Hope, and Woodycrest United Methodist Church. She is also an Instructional Designer for the Department of eLearning Design and Innovation Group in the Smeal College of Business at Penn State.