Encounters with God

Have you ever wrestled with God? Have you asked God, “why?” Have you struggled with how God has answered your prayer? Have you wondered when God will provide you with a break? What did you do after you wrestled with God? Do you hold that time and place in significance?

We all wrestle with God at some point in our lives. It may be small. It may be big. Regardless, we wrestle with God, asking him questions that we have no answer for and may not receive answers for in this lifetime. But when we do receive answers, we may have a very strong memory of the encounter.

We may not openly admit our wrestling with God. We may not physically wrestle with him as Jacob did. We may not have our name changed as Jacob’s name was changed to Israel. Yet, we have tough encounters with God, both mentally and spiritually. Our emotions may spill over into a confrontation with God. We may struggle spiritually and collide with God. The form of the wrestling is less important than our reaction, how we handle it.

Though Jacob had a wounded hip to go with his name change, he still recognized the significance of the encounter. He called the Peniel, which literally means “face of God.” We may not name the place in which we wrestle with God, but we will certainly remember it. When it is a significant encounter, we will remember it for the rest of our lives. We will also tell others about the encounter, even if only to our immediate family or those who are especially close to us. We cannot forget a close encounter with God.

I pray we all remember our encounters with God. I pray we know we all encounter God in various ways. I pray each one of us tell others about our significant encounters with God. We all encounter God. Remember your encounters with God. Tell others about your significant encounters with God.

Genesis 32:30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, yet my life is preserved.”