My two nephews back in Kentucky are both wrestlers for their school. And not to be that uncle who brags, but they’re pretty dog-gone good. They’ve already faced some tough opponents in their short careers. And I’m sure as they continue on the competition will on get tougher.

But could you imagine how hard it would be to wrestle God? That’s what the Bible tells us Jacob did in Genesis 32. Alone in the darkness, facing an uncertain future as he was about to lay eyes on his brother Esau for the first time in 20 years, Jacob wrestled with God through the night. This wasn’t playing around. It was a desperate, exhausting, all-consuming struggle. And when dawn approached and God told Jacob, “Let me go,” Jacob’s response revealed everything: “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

This is the kind of faith God honors. Not polite, distant religion, but tenacious, wrestling engagement. Jacob wouldn’t release his grip until he received what he needed. He latched on with holy desperation.

The blessing came, but not without cost. Jacob’s hip was wounded; he would limp for the rest of his life. Yet he also received a new identity and name—Israel, which literally means “one who struggles with God.” He walked away wounded but transformed, marked forever by his encounter with the Divine.

Sometimes God calls us into the wrestling ring. There will be seasons where prayer feels like a fight, where we must hold on with everything we have, refusing to let go despite the pain, the exhaustion, the uncertainty. These aren’t moments of weak faith. They’re moments of transformation.

Beloved, don’t be afraid to wrestle with God. Bring your doubts, your fears, your desperate needs. Latch on, and don’t let go. Yes, you may walk away limping, bearing the marks of the struggle. But you’ll also walk away blessed, transformed, and forever changed by the One who meets us in our wrestling and makes us into who we’re meant to be.

Change begins in you!