The Wrestle
23 Jun 2025|Papa God & Denae Roth
Dust arose, iIluminated by the dawn of the rising sun. But the wrestle grew stronger. Punching, pulling and rolling on the ground, the masterpiece and the Creator struggled all throughout the night. The man glowing with radiance was losing to Jacob. El Shadi's fingers reached out and touched Jacob's hip, wrenching it out of the socket. God commanded “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!” While the pain that erupted in Jacob’s side was excruciating, he firmly locked the King of Kings in his grip and retaliated, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” “What is your name?” God asked. He replied, “Jacob.” Slowly, Jacob released his grasp, until he gazed upon the blinding light of his Creator's face. “Your name will no longer be Jacob,” the man told him. “From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.” Genesis 32:28. Unsure how to respond to the weight of this man's words, Jacob stuttered, “Please tell me your name.” “Why do you want to know my name?” The man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there. The wrestle had never been about who was winning, but Jacob's desire for God's blessing.
Earlier in Jacob’s life we find him constantly manipulating his family in order to receive the blessing meant for his older brother Esau. Deception was a common theme in his life. But now he was pursuing reconciliation with his brother. Moving out from his father-in-law's covering, into his own territory. The seasons were changing. I’m sure the transition presented a wrestling in his spirit and when God showed up to fight he realized what he needed most. God’s blessing. God’s marking. God’s leadership. Generational blessings could not even come close to being intimately blessed by the Creator. This time he wasn’t blessed through manipulation but pure honesty and recognition that he could not move forward until El Shadi himself went with him. Through the wrestle, breakthrough burst forth.
Honestly, why God chooses to walk up to Jacob in the dark and start a wrestling match has always confused me. That doesn’t seem like God’s nature. Why didn’t he just encounter him and bless him without the battle? Why did our Creator allow himself to be pushed into the dirt by His own creation? As I brought these questions before the Father, I felt the Holy Spirit whisper in my soul, “ I was testing Jacob's desire.” My questions were answered in this simple sentence. We all have places of wrestling in our lives, with God and with earthly situations. Why the struggle? He is testing your desire. Being blessed by God is a responsibility and an honor. I once heard the saying, “God is not calling the qualified, He is qualifying the called.” The wrestle was Jacob’s qualifying and empowering moment, moving him into the next season of his life. It was not that God didn’t want to bless him, or that he was fighting to keep the blessing from him. The wrestle was necessary to move him forward into carrying the weight of his calling and blessing, and to challenge his undivided desire to the Father.
The next thing that stood out to me was that Jacob was marked. God made it so that after their transformative wrestling match, Jacob limped for the rest of his life. Significantly, God also changed His name from Jacob to Israel. A reminder of what took place when he fought for the blessing, when he pushed past the pain to align with God's heart and purpose over his life. I can’t even imagine how uncomfortable I would be if my King approached me to fight with him. The truth is wrestling is uncomfortable and we often try to avoid it. However, If we evade this pivotal encounter, we will not be marked by the Father. In multiple places in the bible, the struggle intensified before the breakthrough took place. In Matthew 4 Jesus had been fasting for forty days before starting his ministry. He was hungry. He was worn out. But the struggle intensified. Satan tested Him. Jesus, the Son of God, did not give in. Though He was fatigued and weary, He remained strong in the Father. Then His ministry began. The change of an era, the beginning of a new season, restoration of relationship with His children. But it started with wrestling. Jesus was tested and marked by His ability to not give in. He needed that wrestling place in order to understand us, and help us when we are being tested. The wrestling place, however uncomfortable it feels, is vitally necessary because He is equipping and marking you for the next season you are about to enter.
God is not keeping the blessing from us. He is testing our desire and empowering us to take the next step. My challenge is to not lean away from the wrestle but to push through the uncomfortable. The blessing is ours. Are we willing to let our Creator mark us in the wrestle?
Earlier in Jacob’s life we find him constantly manipulating his family in order to receive the blessing meant for his older brother Esau. Deception was a common theme in his life. But now he was pursuing reconciliation with his brother. Moving out from his father-in-law's covering, into his own territory. The seasons were changing. I’m sure the transition presented a wrestling in his spirit and when God showed up to fight he realized what he needed most. God’s blessing. God’s marking. God’s leadership. Generational blessings could not even come close to being intimately blessed by the Creator. This time he wasn’t blessed through manipulation but pure honesty and recognition that he could not move forward until El Shadi himself went with him. Through the wrestle, breakthrough burst forth.
Honestly, why God chooses to walk up to Jacob in the dark and start a wrestling match has always confused me. That doesn’t seem like God’s nature. Why didn’t he just encounter him and bless him without the battle? Why did our Creator allow himself to be pushed into the dirt by His own creation? As I brought these questions before the Father, I felt the Holy Spirit whisper in my soul, “ I was testing Jacob's desire.” My questions were answered in this simple sentence. We all have places of wrestling in our lives, with God and with earthly situations. Why the struggle? He is testing your desire. Being blessed by God is a responsibility and an honor. I once heard the saying, “God is not calling the qualified, He is qualifying the called.” The wrestle was Jacob’s qualifying and empowering moment, moving him into the next season of his life. It was not that God didn’t want to bless him, or that he was fighting to keep the blessing from him. The wrestle was necessary to move him forward into carrying the weight of his calling and blessing, and to challenge his undivided desire to the Father.
The next thing that stood out to me was that Jacob was marked. God made it so that after their transformative wrestling match, Jacob limped for the rest of his life. Significantly, God also changed His name from Jacob to Israel. A reminder of what took place when he fought for the blessing, when he pushed past the pain to align with God's heart and purpose over his life. I can’t even imagine how uncomfortable I would be if my King approached me to fight with him. The truth is wrestling is uncomfortable and we often try to avoid it. However, If we evade this pivotal encounter, we will not be marked by the Father. In multiple places in the bible, the struggle intensified before the breakthrough took place. In Matthew 4 Jesus had been fasting for forty days before starting his ministry. He was hungry. He was worn out. But the struggle intensified. Satan tested Him. Jesus, the Son of God, did not give in. Though He was fatigued and weary, He remained strong in the Father. Then His ministry began. The change of an era, the beginning of a new season, restoration of relationship with His children. But it started with wrestling. Jesus was tested and marked by His ability to not give in. He needed that wrestling place in order to understand us, and help us when we are being tested. The wrestling place, however uncomfortable it feels, is vitally necessary because He is equipping and marking you for the next season you are about to enter.
God is not keeping the blessing from us. He is testing our desire and empowering us to take the next step. My challenge is to not lean away from the wrestle but to push through the uncomfortable. The blessing is ours. Are we willing to let our Creator mark us in the wrestle?