Why it's important that you wrestle down your past

Genesis 32 describes a turning point in Jacob’s life. Jacob had deceived his brother, Esau, into giving up his birthright and received their father’s blessing in Esau’s place. As a result, Esau had vowed to kill Jacob. 

Jacob had every reason to fear as he prepared to face his estranged brother. Jacob’s internal conflict and external struggle were more than nervous jitters. Genesis 32 shows a man wrestling with the Lord and making peace with his past. 

Jacob’s struggle with God reminds us that our past sin does not have to preclude our future potential. What Jacob did to Esau was wrong but that didn’t stop him from receiving the Lord’s blessing.

Like Jacob, we overcome our past by facing it, repenting of it, and submitting the future. There is no resolution in burying the past. Without the struggle and his own recognition of sin, Jacob never becomes Israel or receives God’s blessing.

Sometimes, group leaders have to be the first to get real. And like Jacob, the candor may be painful. 

The good news is God has grace upon grace for us. While we might see humility and confession as a sign of weakness, Jesus says the opposite is true: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Jesus’ power in us is strongest when we are weakest. 

Jacob believed that in order to receive a blessing, he had to take it from his brother. The true blessing was on the other side of confession with the Lord and the acceptance of God’s grace. Likewise, some of our greatest blessings will come on the other side of a hard lesson. The question is whether we’re willing to do the work to wrestle it down.  

Reflect:

• Are you held captive by an event in your past?
• Are there any problems/sins you are trying to resolve on your own apart from Christ?
• Can you celebrate any areas where Jesus has overcome?