He wrestles with God

Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.  –Genesis 32:28 (NIV)
 
Having broken free from his less-than-honorable father-in-law, Jacob was now faced with his own less-than-honorable past. He was on the verge of a family reunion that he expected to go badly. Hedging his bets as always, he divided his people and possessions into multiple groups and planned to spend this night alone before meeting his brother, Esau, the following day. What promised to be a restless night would soon become more so.
 
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.  –Genesis 32:24-25 (NIV)
 
The mysterious stranger was a messenger sent from God. The encounter represented a turning point in Jacob’s life. Though he had known of the God of his fathers, he had gotten to this point in life, at least in his own estimation, mostly by relying on his wits. On this night, YHWH became tangibly real to Jacob. God could have crushed Jacob, but He had bigger plans for him. Jacob would always be a pragmatist with the tendency to look for an advantage, but from this point forward, he would maintain a relationship with God and acknowledge His role in blessing his life.
 
Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”
But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.
So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “I saw God face to face, yet my life was spared.” The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.  –Genesis 32:29-31 (NIV)
 
Israel the man wrestled with God. Israel the nation would wrestle with God. God's people have a long history of wrestling. Jacob got three things that night – a new name, a blessing, and a limp that would forever remind him of his need for God.
 
Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s messenger did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,
 
“My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.”
 
Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.  –2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (MSG)
 
God could, if He so chose, dominate and impose His will upon us. Instead, He calls us by a new name and allows us to wrestle – to learn, to grow, to gain the blessing and carry the scar. This may be one of the surest signs not only of His love, but of His confidence in us, even when our faith is weak and our confidence is gone.