Learning How to be Desperate for Submission

We are in the final stretch toward Easter. Church choirs have been practicing special music, and retail stores are jam packed with cute dresses, as well as a plethora of bunny decorations. In just a few weeks, we will celebrate Jesus’ resurrection and His victory over sin and death.

Many of you decided to experience the Lenten season by fasting in some way. Others of you chose a specific Lent devotional to enable you to focus on our desperate need for God’s grace, along with fully remembering Jesus’ sacrifice for us.

For me this year, I realized my desperation for Jesus in a different way. I didn’t plan for the lessons God provided; I maintain this journey was thrust upon me.

Desperate

At first, I delighted in the change of weather. I eagerly welcomed the hope of spring. Unfortunately, along with the sunshine, I also encountered unwanted furry friends at the Farmhouse.

One morning I read Genesis 32 where Jacob wrestles with God; the story resonated with me like it never had before. The Holy Spirit pointed out to me I was wrestling with Him. He prompted me to take a closer look at what scripture reveals.

Preparation and Management

First, I noticed Jacob did everything he could think to do in preparation for his encounter with Esau. Early in Genesis 32, Jacob sent gifts of goats, ewes and rams, camels, and donkeys to his estranged brother Esau. Jacob spread them out so that as each herd arrived, Esau would hear the animals were gifts from his servant Jacob. In addition, Jacob placed his wives, his children, and all his possessions on the other side of the river for protection should Esau not welcome Jacob.

We manage circumstances the same way. We do everything we can to regulate our situation. Please don’t misunderstand me, we are wise to aim for control of events that ignite anxiety and fear in us. For example, it would have been insane for my sweet Pastor husband to not set traps, working to rid the Farmhouse of our unwelcomed guests. However, we often overlook the truth that we are not the ones with absolute control.

Wrestling with God

Second, I considered the declaration found in Genesis 32:24, “So Jacob was left alone.” He took every precaution his mind could conceive, and then he was isolated with his thoughts, anxiety, and fears. The rest of Genesis 32:24 reads, “…Then a man wrestled with him until daybreak.”

Refusal to Submit

Next, I contemplated the statement made in Genesis 32:25. “When the man saw that he could not defeat Jacob…” As one reads the whole story, you learn Jacob wrestles with an angel of the Lord or God Himself. To think Jacob was more powerful than God is ludicrous. We clearly learn from scripture that God is all powerful; He is the I AM.

Jacob responded like we do. He refused to submit. Furthermore, he continually demanded what he thought would be best, selfishly clinging to his own definition of good and desiring dominance. In my story, I walked into the Farmhouse for days insisting God remove our roommates in the way I thought best. I craved God would fix the circumstance in my way and in my timing.

Learning to Submit

After considering the wrestling match, I noted God chose to injure Jacob. We don’t like to ponder this concept, but God will do what seems harsh to bring us to submission. We must remember, God sees what we often cannot see. Paul tells us in Romans 11:33-34, “Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! For who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice?” (NLT)

I struggled to understand why God didn’t magically make the mice disappear. After all, I was confident He could do it. Instead, we endured several days of seeing mice in the house, setting, and resetting traps. Then we were awoken in the night by scratching in the walls. Our dear landlord sent out an exterminator who brought hope and revealed mice were in places I was unaware. He set out poison and we took additional steps to keep them out of our living space.

Submission is a Journey

Finally, I observed God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. He no longer was known as a deceiver or a manipulator. The New English Translation provided this note about the name Israel, “Here it means ‘God fights.’ This name will replace the name Jacob; it will be both a promise and a call for faith. In essence, the Lord was saying that Jacob would have victory and receive the promises because God would fight for him.”

God chooses to take us where we are and lead us to be who He created us to be. I believe it beneficial to note that Jacob continued to struggle. He didn’t fully trust Esau when they met, and you discover in Genesis 35 that he knew family members had foreign idols. Submission is a journey. It was for Jacob, it is for me, and I’m convinced it is for you as well.

Hosea’s Take on Jacob

Hosea refers to Jacob and this portion of his story in Hosea 12. He uses the story to remind the nation of Israel they must return to honoring God, just as Jacob did at Bethel, after he wrestled with God.

Hosea supplies three simple steps for when we wrestle with God, demanding our way versus submitting to Him as Lord.

1. Repent. Don’t go your own way, choose to humble yourself before the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. Return to the protection and provision of His presence.
2. Choose to live within the scope of God’s love and justice. Deeply know He loves you and allow that love to form how you react to circumstances and treat others.
3. Depend on Him. The CSB versions says, “always put your hope in God.” Wait expectantly for God to reveal Himself and equip you with what He knows is best.

Submission Provides Blessed Relationship

As I am writing this, we are still trapping mice. They aren’t in the Farmhouse, at least not that I know. Additionally, I am fully aware of my desperation for God. He is the One who not only saves my soul, but He is also the one who rescues me from debilitating fear.

I choose to humble myself daily before the Lord who fights for me. My friends continually pray peace over me. I seek to identify God’s love for me in every small victory as I reside at the Farmhouse. I fill my mind with scripture and praise music to encourage my dependency on a good God. God continues to teach me submission, just like He taught Jacob.

Our human nature leads us to wrestle with God when we think we are not acquiring what we believe is good. We stubbornly demand our way or manipulate circumstances so that our lives align more with our personal ideal. Jesus died to give us the life He created us to live. He longs for us to submit, and experience blessed relationship with the One who is LORD.

Cross on the Hillside Photo by Thanti Riess on Unsplash