I’m having a bad day .
I didn’t expect to.
I can’t even put my finger on why today is hard when yesterday wasn’t.
“I’m struggling today,” I said to one of my daughters.
Yeh. That’s what if feels like today. A struggle.
For whatever reason, even though I’m still counting my blessings, today I want to climb into bed and just have a good cry. Or pick a fight with someone, even though I know that wouldn’t end well.
So, I’m tussling with God today.
Yep.
I’m doing what Jacob (one of the patriarchs of the Christian faith) did when he was outdone and at the end of himself. Alone and weak, the Bible says Jacob wrestled with God, and when the Lord told Jacob to let Him go, “Jacob panted, “I will not let you go until you bless me” (Genesis 32: 26, TLB).
In the end, God blessed Jacob mightily.
When you’re having a bad day, it can be good to wrestle with God.
You can’t wrestle with someone you’re not willing to grapple with. To touch. To latch onto.
That’s why wrestling with God brings us closer to Him.
Holding onto all my questions, doubts, and heartaches pushes me inward, away from God. But carrying the whole mess to God and wrestling things out with Him brings me into a more intimate place with Him.
I hold onto Him in faith and feel His presence. I pour out my feelings and feel His Spirit reminding me of truth. And once I confess my fears and weaknesses, I find it true that we can “draw near to God, and He will draw near to you” (James 4:8, HCSB).
We tend to think God doesn’t want to deal with us in our messiness. That He wants us to come to Him only when we have tidy little scripture quotes and rowdy hallelujahs. But that’s just not true.
God tells us to bring all our feelings and fears to Him, to “let Him have all your worries and cares, for He is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you” (1 Peter 5:7, TLB).
So, when it comes to what to do when you’re having a bad day, we can keep struggling. Or we can wrestle.
I vote for getting in the ring with God and taking our doubts, fears, and frustrations with us. If we’re willing to wrestle in faith, we’ll come out winners every time.
Have had a few of those myself recently. Started listing again in my gratitude journal— so much to be thankful for— including the grappling with allowing God to do whatever He wants in our lives— without fear and without trying to hold on to control any part.
I have also noticed the sunny days are a huge gift from the Lord right now. Our rainy/gray days have been the hardest days.
Love you, Cindy! God is using this time to yet refine us further in order to bring further glory to His name!
Agreed, Margaret! Sunny skies are truly a gift! And so is gratitude. It always ends up blessing me when I remember how blessed I am. I was thinking today that, had the Israelites stopped grumbling long enough to count their blessings, perhaps their journey through the wilderness would have been different:) I want my journey through this crazy time to deepen my faith and make me more mindful of the blessings I take for granted.
Thank you for this! Hard days are a plenty lately. Can you offer some practical ways to “wrestle” with God? Jacob did physically. We can’t do that. Any thoughts/suggestions??
Stephanie, thank you for reading! When I’m wrestling with God, of course I’m not fighting AGAINST Him, but fighting it out in front of Him, knowing and having faith that He is on my side. I think that’s an important step we often overlook. There are so many other places to go, thinking we’re “de-stressing” or “working things out” or “getting good advice.” I take the whole mess of what I’m feeling or experiencing to Him, holding nothing back and unafraid of being honest with Him. And I open my Bible, often to the book of Psalms, to read God’s promises and to gain more assurance of who He is and how He works. Jacob said he wouldn’t let go of God until God blessed him, and that’s what I sometimes have to do – hold onto Him until He reveals Himself to me. Wrestling with God always brings intimacy in the end. I’m closer to Him after I’ve allowed Him to deliver me from my fears, doubts, frustrations etc. I have a prayer page I use when I pray. It’s nothing fancy, just something I came up with that helps me. I’d be glad to send it to you if you don’t already have one. You can send me your email via my Facebook page @The Titus Woman.