Do You Wrestle?

I am on the Outer Banks of NC where we come once a year to relax and refresh. It is a place for me to simply commune with God without much people stuff surrounding me. I love what I do. I love the people I serve with and minister to, but it is a spiritual, emotional, physical help to get away for a little while. It is a time to focus on God with little interruption. The sand is warm and the ocean is simply awe-inspiring. Something so much bigger than I am, so much more powerful, it puts my finite being into perspective. The simple truth is that this is barely a blip in comparison to the awesome reality of who God is.

This God of such creative magnificence and power loves me. He has revealed Himself to me and desires to fellowship with me. It is more than I can begin to understand. This is why I come here to begin with. Just to soak in the Almighty. That and to wrestle a bit with God. That concept used to bother me. I mean, aren't we followers just to accept and obey? Didn't questions get Job in trouble? However, the questions are real and God knows I have them, so it seems a bit naive to think He doesn't. I am not here to argue, per se, just to let Him know I do not understand stuff, quite a bit of stuff, actually. So I come to relax and to wrestle.

Every trip down here carries the tradition of rising early enough to watch the sunrise over the Atlantic. There are few who join me on the beach, so it is just me and the Lord of creation reveling in His handiwork. The reddish glow sends out shards of crimson light until the brilliant orb that is the sun creeps over the horizon. It seems to accelerate as it climbs to the sky and become too intense to view. Long walks down the nearly deserted beach give me time to reflect and absorb a little natural vitamin “D.” Usually the time is also filled with brownies, pizza, fudge from the little store in Nags Head, some ice cream and M&Ms. But this year I am determined to be more disciplined and remove body jello rather than add to it, So I brought our old beat up bike.

Riding a bike on the Outer Banks has one clear advantage, there are no hills to climb, just miles of flat blacktop. One clear disadvantage is that there are no hills to coast down. As my rides tend to head south, there is a prevailing southern wind to keep you warm and yet cooled at the same time. I learned that a 13 to 15 MPH headwind is worse than it sounds on the weather channel. There is no coasting. If you don’t peddle you tip over into the sand burs on the edge of the highway.  This being true, the 17 mile ride to Avon took more effort than I expected. My longest ride in a couple of years was the day before, a round trip of 6 miles with no headwind. Still, as old as I am getting, it felt good to have made the ride and the muscles are none the worse for wear when I bounded out of bed this morning.

The lesson learned is that if there is no resistance, there is no increase in strength. If there is no time of wrestling, there is no advancement in skill or stamina. Such is true on the spiritual level as well. Paul has told us in Eph 6:12 that “We do not fight against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual wickedness in the heavenlies.” Wrestling with such things serves to strengthen our faith and resolve for, “we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us” (Rom 8:37). However, there is evidence that there is other wrestling that goes on. Jacob, for example, wrestled with the Angel of the Lord in Genesis 32 and Hosea highlights this in Hosea 12. Jacob wrestled and would not let go until God blessed him. Jabez, I Chron 4:10, offers a prayer that is almost a time of wrestling with God so that God might bless him and enlarge his borders.

I wrestle with a variety of things. Like why God allows for death to suddenly take one of His beloved saints. Why a couple I know, whose gentle spirit reflects that of the Lord beyond anyone I can think of. With them God allowed victory over cancer and then allowed Parkinson disease to be its replacement. I do not understand. I wonder why some things in Scripture are obvious, like salvation found in Messiah alone, or the fact that we all will die. However some things are vague, like how to organize an assembly of believers, Elders, Deacons, Pastors, home churches, cathedrals that glorify the Lord? What of future events, Pre, Post, Mid Trib rapture or no rapture at all. Old Testament Saints, New Testament saints and Tribulation saints, where does it all fit? Then there is the biggy in my head, grace and works or grace and obedience to God’s Word. Grace is obvious and has been from Genesis one until now. Most agree that obedience to God’s Word is important. Yet it seems to be true only if I get to pick what part of God’s Word I choose to obey. There are many things to wrestle with, both with God and with others who follow Yeshua Messiah, Jesus the son of God. But it is time to hit the beach so we will continue to wrestle a bit next week.