In this blog, Jacob is wrestling with his own identity. Read on as God literally steps into Jacob’s confusion and wrestles him through it.
It is not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith that actually saves you. Timothy Keller Despite being the first book of the Bible, scholars cannot agree on the authorship or timing of Genesis. After the creation narrative and description of the fall of humanity through Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Noah and the Flood, God restores a new covenant with His people. He promises to do it through Abraham in Genesis chapters 12–18, before describing the stories of Isaac, Jacob, and Esau, and Joseph in the latter parts of the book.
Jacob was a man of deception, disappointment, dishonesty, and identity confusion. However, in today’s passage, God radically steps in to set Jacob on a new and purpose-filled path. Let’s read Genesis, Chapter 32: That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions. 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. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered.Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”Genesis 32:22–28
Few Biblical figures struggled with their identity like Jacob. Renowned for his cunning, Jacob’s life unfolds as a messy tapestry woven with deception, ambition and confusion. He cheated his brother, lied to his father, and ran away from his problems. His very name means “deceiver”. He certainly lived up to it! Jacob struggled to define himself on his own because of his older brother Esau's shadow. He spent his life manipulating and deceiving to seek power and identity apart from Esau. Through his striving, he gained wealth and a big family, but lost his peace in the process.
In the moment where our passage picks up Jacob’s story, he was a confused and broken man. This, though, is exactly where God meets him—in the centre of his crisis. God doesn’t wait for Jacob to sort his problems by himself. Instead, He steps right into Jacob’s confusion and, quite literally, wrestles him through it. There’s so much we can learn.
Working out who we are can be a genuine struggle. We scramble for answers, crafting masks in a shifting-sands culture obsessed with outward perfection. Comparisons sting us. Mess-ups deflate us. Life throws punch-after-punch, leaving us confused, lost, and far from where we envisioned. We wrestle, push and fight—in vain. Our true identity remains elusive. Jacob’s wrestling offers us an impactful lesson for navigating these crisis moments. His story resonates with one major piece of advice: Take it all to God. Wrestle this thing out with Him. And show some tenacity. Your Father can deal with your questions, frustrations and pain.
As we humbly acknowledge the limits of our self-constructed image, we create a space for God to re-shape it. And this is key. Because our real identity lies not in what we can make of ourselves but in the One who can make something of us. Today, know this: God is the only One who can truly define you. In comparison to the temporary labels of the world, the name God gives you is eternal. You’ll walk with it forever, just as Israel did with his God-given limp. Israel’s new walk was a profound physical reminder of his life-changing moment. God had marked him indelibly.
Take a moment to let this sink in. Like Jacob, we find our true selves when we cease striving and surrender to God’s purposes. God sees you not as you are but as you could be. He wrestles you through your confusion and leads you into a place of overcoming. He puts His mark on you and calls you by name: You’re loved. Chosen. Valued. Saved. So, I’ll leave you with this: Who will you allow to define your identity today? The world? Yourself? Other people? Or will you let God tell you who you really are?
Let’s pray: Dear God, Just as you did with Jacob, would you meet me today in my doubts, confusion, striving and frustration. Show me who you’ve made me to be. Wrestle with me if you must. Instead of trying to forge my own path and identity, I chose to surrender everything to you. You know me best. I trust you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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