Genesis 32: 6-7a, 9a, 10a, 11-12a, 13b, 20b-22a, 24-31 - The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, "We came to your brother Esau, and he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him." Then Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed. ... And he said, "O God ... I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that You have shown Your servant .... Please deliver me from the hand of my brother ... for I fear him ... But You said, 'I will surely do you good ...." [Then] from what he had with him [Jacob] took a present for his brother Esau [550 animals, livestock] ... For Jacob thought, "I may appease him with the present that goes ahead of me ... Perhaps he will accept me." So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp. [That] same night [when] Jacob was left alone ... a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail over Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then [the man] said, "Let me go, for the day has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." And [the man] said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why [do] you ask my name?" And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [which means, "face of God"], he was saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered." [Then] the sun rose upon Jacob as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

This devotion pairs with this weekend's Lutheran Hour sermon, which can be found at lhm.org.

Whenever you meet someone new, whoever they are, it's a sure bet that they're engaged in some struggle, some internal or external grudge match, or that they've just come through one, or are about to enter one. And just knowing that, maybe it helps us all be a bit more patient and gracious.

Because the struggle is real. But it's not the most real thing about us in our situation in the world. Because before there was struggle and after all the struggle has ceased, God and His love will remain, because God, in His love, stepped into the ring with us. God-become-Man met you there, by the river of your struggle, to fight for you, to fight with you. And the God-Man was willing to lose to us, to take the hits from our hands, to die for us, to save us.

Jesus, God's Son, came. He became one of us. He strove for us. And with us, and He lost to us, willingly, died on the cross for us, to prove to us that compared to His love—man, our struggles don't even punch featherweight. Jesus rose from the mat and will return to raise us from death. He will make all things new and be crowned heavyweight champion of the world. So, in Him, by faith in Him, by His grace, take off the gloves, man. Cease striving and know that He is God (see Psalm 46:10).

WE PRAY: Dear Father, the struggle is real, but Your grace is all the more. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler, Speaker for The Lutheran Hour.

Reflection Questions:

1. Which part of that scene from Jacob's life is most gripping to you?

2. Where do you struggle with God?

3. What do you think is God's current struggle with you?

Today's Bible Readings: Jeremiah 20, 35-36    Colossians 4

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