When We Wrestle with God

When We Wrestle with God

Sometimes, in our walk with the Lord, we find ourselves wrestling—not just with life’s hardships, but with God Himself. Not because we don’t love Him, but because we refuse to let go until we understand, until He answers, until He blesses.

From the beginning, God gave man free will—the right to choose—because He is a loving God who desires a natural surrender from our hearts, not dictated by force or fear. He wants us to come willingly to Him, freely choosing to love, obey, and walk in His ways. When we force ourselves or others into obedience, when we impose our will upon someone else, we quench the Spirit of God. Acts of intimidation, fear, or coercion—whether for approval, absolution, or control—disrupt the divine work in the heart and the free agency of its individual journey God intends.

It’s important to remember that salvation is deeply personal. Your mother, father, spouse, or sibling cannot grant it to you. Only Jesus Christ can, (John 14:6), and only when a person chooses to surrender willingly. God whispers to us, often until our very last moments, prompting repentance and a return to Him, because His desire is that all come to Him humbly, of their own free will.

I’ve seen this truth in my own life many times. In this one instance, I was visiting a church one day, prompted by the Lord the night before to attend. I was seeking God and visiting a church wasn’t uncommon for me to be led to speak, to ensure I was following His will, not tradition or the expectations of men. That day i was to speak if the man He had instructed did not give the message God had directed him to preach that day and if not i was to stand in his place. My heart was astonished in relief, when the speaker opened his mouth, though stumbling over his word he did speak the truth as it was meant to be given. My heart bearded witness , and i stood to share that he did indeed obey and give the same message God prepared me to speak in his place if he did not. I witnessed a powerful moment of wrestled surrender by the speaker to Gods call .

Often the walk toward surrender, often described as the “walk of shame” to the altar. This walk can be the longest a person ever takes, as the flesh resists and the adversary seeks to keep the soul from true surrender. Yet it is precisely in that wrestling of the heart, in the call to surrender, that real conversion happens—the kind that transforms a life forever. I was reminded that this surrender cannot be coerced, dictated, or imposed; it must be chosen freely by each soul, guided by the promptings of the Holy Spirit. For it is The Lord who does the work in the hearts of the surrendered.

This reminds me of the Pharisees and Sadducees in Scripture. They were so rigid in their understanding of the Law that they failed to see God calling everyone—Jew and Gentile alike—into His kingdom. They were in rebellion, unable to yield to God’s voice. This same principle applies today: God cannot be boxed in by human limitations and the lack of divine wisdom . Neither by religious labels, or the rigid definitions of others. As God often wishes to do a new thing that His glory is known. He moves as He wills, and He invites us to respond, freely, in obedience and trust and believe in faith that all things are possible for God.

Jacob’s story in Genesis 32 illustrates this beautifully. Jacob had been running from his past and his mistakes, and the night before he would meet his brother Esau again, he wrestled with a mysterious man until daybreak. The Scripture says:

“So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, ‘Let me go, for it is daybreak.’ But Jacob replied, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’” (Genesis 32:24-26)

Jacob walked away limping, but also blessed, with a new name: Israel, “one who wrestles with God.” This story reminds us that holy wrestling—persistent, Spirit-led, prayerful pursuit—often brings the deepest blessing. Sometimes the blessing comes in the transformation of our hearts, sometimes in the outcome of circumstances, but it always comes in God’s timing and in His way That we might trust in Him fully.

I think about times in my own life when prayers seemed unanswered, when the path was unclear, when the expectations of others pressed in. Yet, in wrestling and staying close to the Lord, He met me. He changed me, He prepared me, and He never left me the same.

Right now, as my son Benjermen faces surgery, I feel that same need to wrestle—not against God, but with Him. To hold fast in prayer, worship, and quiet reflection, until His peace and blessing rest fully on this situation. This is the kind of wrestling that transforms fear into faith, uncertainty into trust, and burden into testimony.

We all have moments like this—seasons of struggle, doubt, or fear. God honors those who cling to Him, even in the hardest nights. The limp we may carry afterward becomes a testimony, a mark of God’s faithfulness in the wrestling.

So today, I invite you—no matter your denomination, background, or life circumstances—to wrestle with God. Lay down the walls of disbelief, tear down the labels, and judgment. Cling to Him, listen for His whisper, obey His promptings, and refuse to let go until you experience His blessing.

Because when you wrestle with God, you don’t walk away the same.

Scripture References:

Genesis 32:24-26 – Jacob wrestles with the angel
Matthew 11:28-30 – Jesus invites the weary to find rest
Romans 10:9 – Confession and belief lead to salvation
John 3:16 – God’s love and the promise of eternal life
Luke 15:11-32 – The Parable of the Prodigal Son
1 Thessalonians 5:19 – Do not quench the Spirit
Ephesians 4:30 – Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God
Deuteronomy 30:19 – God sets before us life and death, blessing and curse
John 7:17 – Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own
Luke 1:37 – “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”
Matthew 19:26 – “But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
Mark 10:27 – “And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.”
Job 42:2 – “I know that You can do all things; no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.”
Jeremiah 32:17 – “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee.”
Jeremiah 32:27 – “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?”
Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me.”
Genesis 18:14 – “Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.”
John 14:6, where Jesus Himself says: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

From my quiet heart to yours, may you hear His whisper…

— Spring Lynn Booth

http://whispers-in-the-quiet.org
Email: Hopeministries2010@yahoo.com
FB Page: A Box of Sox Ministry
My URL: https://gravatar.com/springlynnbooth

Whispers In The Quiet

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