7 More Hebrew Words Every Christian Should KnowParaugs

ISRAEL: Which means WRESTLES WITH GOD

This is one of my all-time favorite photos of my daughters, Chelsea and Ella. We were in Washington DC on a gorgeous spring day, and they decided it was a good time to wrestle on the National Mall. To me, this is a picture of my relationship with God.

See, I used to carry a lot of guilt whenever I questioned a paradox in Scripture or disagreed with something I heard in church. But there’s a story in the Bible of a man named Jacob who one night literally wrestles with God. By morning, God walks away from the fight and changes Jacob’s name to Israel, which in Hebrew means “struggles” or “wrestles with God.” This name is prophetic, signifying that God’s people will always wrestle with Him. The ancient Jews believed God invites you into this wonderful wrestling match with Him. Author Athol Dickson says, “What if God placed these paradoxes within the Scriptures to cause me to struggle for the truth? What if it is the struggle he desires as much as the truth itself?” When you wrestle with God, He's right there with you, just like my daughters are with each other in this picture.

So the next time you struggle with faith, that's not a time for guilt, but celebration. God is inviting you to wrestle with Him so you can be connected with the Creator of the universe.

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