The Mustard Seed Mill

Blind Faith.

This is a term that I think a lot of times we can associate with just the word “faith” itself. If we have faith, we should just simply have faith, no matter what… and if we don’t have blind faith, then we don’t have faith. The more I read scripture and the more I get to know God, I just don’t believe this to be true.

Sometimes we can begin to think that if we grapple with our faith at all that we are not having “faith.” We can often believe that if we wrestle through our theology, that we are not believing God enough. Somewhere in the midst of our faith walk, we start to think that we cannot go to God with big questions for fear of feeling like we are without faith, we “should already know the answer,” or we are afraid of the answer…

I like to challenge that way of thinking in myself and others. There are so many biblical examples of grappling with faith. We see so many men and women in the Bible struggle to flesh out their walk with God. I think there is much to learn from these men and women. Today, I am specifically thinking of the example of Jacob.

Early on, we see Jacob not always making the best decisions. We see him being deceptive. In fact, Jacob means “the supplanter,” some would say “the deceiver.” We see him being defined by his deceptive schemes to usurp his brother’s position in his family. We see time and again when Jacob uses deceptive means to get his brother’s birthright and then his blessing.

We see Jacob knowing of God. We see Jacob speak of God as “the God of my father Isaac” and “the God of Abraham.” There was one particular time when we see God appear to Jacob in a dream and Jacob is caught off guard saying “surely God is in this place and I did not perceive it.” Gen. 28:16.

Jacob knew about God, but did he know God? We see God show up for Jacob many times. We see him give Jacob dreams, insight, favor… But Jacob still seemed distant from God. Jacob still saw God as “the God of my fathers.” How often do we know about God, but we don’t actually know Him?

There came a pivotal moment in the life of Jacob. Jacob was about to come face to face with Esau and face some of his life choices. We see a moment in the middle of the night when Jacob was alone. Genesis tells us that a man wrestled with Jacob here. Hosea calls this man an angel, but we can know that Jacob wrestled with God in this place. Genesis tells us that when the man saw that he could not overcome Jacob, that he touched the socket of his hip in order to subdue Jacob. Jacob would not let the man go without receiving the blessing he desired.

At this point, something very interesting happens. The man asks Jacob for his name. In the middle of the battle, Jacob is asked to admit his own name. Once this name is called out, Jacob is given a new name: Israel.

We see God come to Jacob in a dark moment. Not only was it in the night, but it was at a dark moment in his life. He had no idea what was to come from his brother Esau in the coming day or days. This might be the first time that we see Jacob truly engage with God. Jacob is bold enough to wrestle with God. Jacob grapples with God.

In the midst of this grappling with God, we can see that Jacob is asking for his blessing. He wants what he thinks is his. It is at this moment when the man asks Jacob for his name. Jacob is forced to speak his own name and in effect recognize and call out his deceptive ways. This is a moment where God is calling to light who Jacob had been in order to call out something new in him. Jacob was no longer to be the supplanter or deceiver. He was to now be Israel, the one who struggled with God and overcame.

God did not bless Jacob while he was still Jacob. This was a tremendous act of grace. Can you imagine if God had given added blessing to Jacob while he was still called “deceiver?” God took a moment to call out what needed to be called out and give him a new identity. It was not until he was called Israel that he would be ready to receive the blessing. It was not until Jacob grappled with God and knew Him for himself, not until he knew who he was in God that he was able to receive what God had for him.

Jacob is newly defined in this moment of grappling with God. Something interesting in this moment is that when Jacob is wrestling with God, he is near to God. You cannot wrestle with something that is far away. Wrestling is done very up close and personal. Jacob gets a new intimate knowledge and understanding of God in this moment. This is true when we go to God with the things of our faith that we are working through.

We do not see God condemn Jacob for wrestling with Him. We do not see God cast Jacob away because of this moment. Instead, we see this moment cause greater intimacy with God, a new walk for Jacob as well as reconciliation in relationships.

Jacob grappled with God and overcame. There are so many times when we have big questions, hardships, struggles, suffering… We can allow these moments to be a divide between us and the Lord, or we can be like Jacob and we can engage with God in a new way. We can grapple with Him and the things of our faith. We can allow for a close moment with the Lord in the midst of our darkness. We can allow God to call out the things that He needs to call out so that He can then call forth something greater in us. When we do this, God becomes more than just the God of our fathers, or our friends, or our coworkers…. He becomes our God and in that we find our inheritance and blessing.