Pastor Scott Applegate
“In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel; as a man he struggled with God. He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there— the Lord God Almighty, the Lord is his name!” Hosea 12:3-5 NIV
Fact: Life is a sequence of struggles
Truth: God has promised to help us overcome our struggles
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 ESV
We have a lot in common with Jacob:
1. We struggle with each other
- Jacob struggled with his brother (Genesis 25:22)
- He struggled with his wives (Genesis 30:1-24)
- His in-laws (Genesis 31:1-2)
- His sons (Genesis 37-50)
2. We struggle with ourselves
- Jacob’s name means “deceiver”
“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.” Romans 7:15-23 NIV
3. We struggle with God
Why?
- We doubt His wisdom and His character
- We want to be in control
How to struggle with God and grow from it:
- “Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 NIV
- “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” Psalm 55:22 NIV
In the middle of your struggle:
- Confess to God how you are feeling
“Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament.” Psalm 5:1 NIV
- Appeal to His character
“Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, “God will not deliver him.” But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain.” Psalm 3:1-4 NIV
- Stand on what He has said
“Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, Lord, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’” Genesis 32:9-12 NIV
- Tell God that you will trust Him and that your hope is in Him no matter the circumstances
“Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him…” Job 13:15 NIV
“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength!” Habakkuk 3:17-19 NLT