16 Nov Faith in the brokenness

Life is full of struggles. It doesn’t matter who we are—young or old, man or woman, whatever our background—we all face challenges. Some of us struggled just to get out of bed this morning. Others had a hard time deciding what to wear or what to eat. Some even wondered if they should eat at all.

We struggle with fear, with making the right choices, and even with going to church. Yes, church, life is not always easy.

But these struggles didn’t start with us. People have been wrestling with life for a long time. Even the Apostle Paul said he struggled to do what was right. He wanted to do good, but sometimes ended up doing the wrong thing instead. Sound familiar?

Sometimes we want to go to church, but end up somewhere else. Young people, maybe you want to study, but find yourself out with friends., Maybe you plan to visit someone who’s sick, but end up staying home. Maybe  you want to give, but hold back. Maybe you want to build up, but end up tearing down.

Why do we struggle so much? It’s because of sin. And who tempts us with sin? The devil. The Bible says we don’t fight against people, but against spiritual forces of darkness.

Church, the closer we try to walk with God, the harder the enemy tries to pull us away. But here’s the good news: even in our struggles, God can bless us.

Today, we’re going to talk about that. We’ll look at Jacob—a man who had many struggles on his journey to becoming who God wanted him to be.

The Problem

How many of you have ever been to a wrestling match? Or maybe tried wrestling with someone? You might be surprised, but all of us have some kind of wrestling going on inside our lives—and maybe even with God.

Let me tell you a story about a guy named Jacob. His wrestling didn’t start on the wrestling mat, but way before he was even born! In fact, even in their mother’s womb, Jacob and his twin brother Esau were struggling with each other. When they were born, Esau came out first, but Jacob grabbed his brother’s heel as if trying to pull him back. That’s how important being the firstborn was in their family.

Jacob’s name actually means “grabber” or “one who tricks,” because he was always trying to take what he wanted by cleverness. As they grew, Jacob kept wrestling—not just physically, but with life itself. Esau was a hunter and their dad’s favorite, while Jacob stayed home looking after the sheep, favored by their mom. One day, when Esau came home starving, Jacob made a deal. He said, “I’ll give you some stew if you sell me your birthright.” Esau agreed, and just like that, Jacob grabbed the special blessing that was meant for Esau.

But Jacob’s wrestling didn’t end there. When their dad Isaac was old and nearly blind, Isaac asked Esau to prepare some food so he could bless him. Jacob’s mom helped him trick Isaac by dressing like Esau and pretending to be him. Isaac gave Jacob the blessing, too, without realizing it. So this story is full of wrestling, scheming, and family drama.

Now fast forward: Jacob had been away for almost 20 years because Esau was angry. But Jacob was ready to go home. Guess what? Esau was coming to meet him with 400 men! Jacob was frightened—he didn’t have any soldiers, just his family and helpers.

Here’s something I want you to notice: Jacob thought his biggest problem was Esau, but that wasn’t the real issue. Deep down, Jacob was wrestling with something inside himself — he had never really learned to trust God completely. He always wanted to be in control, to manage everything on his own.

And honestly, we’re not that different, are we? When life gets hard, when things don’t go our way, we get stressed, angry, or afraid. But often, the real problem isn’t what’s happening around us — it’s what’s happening inside us. We want to be in control, and when we can’t be, we panic.

Think about it — imagine you’re stuck in traffic. You start getting frustrated and upset. But the real issue isn’t the traffic itself — it’s that feeling of losing control. You can’t move, you can’t hurry things up, and that makes you tense.

Or think about a teenager who just finished the HSC (big congrats, by the way — can we give them a clap?). 🎉

Maybe you had a plan — a specific course you wanted, a certain score you were aiming for. But when the results came out, they weren’t what you hoped for. And you got so upset. Why?

Not just because of the results, but because things didn’t go your way. You wanted to be in control of how your life turns out.

That’s exactly like Jacob. He thought Esau was the problem, but God was actually using the situation to show Jacob his heart problem — his lack of trust. And sometimes, God does that with us too. He gently says, “Hey, I’ve got this. You don’t need to carry it all. Let go and hold on to Me.”

Now, let’s see what Jacob did next — what he did right in the middle of his fear.

The Fear

Imagine being on a journey, full of fear and uncertainty. That was Jacob. He had just left his uncle Laban’s house after many years and was now heading back home. But going home wasn’t as simple as it sounds—Jacob had to face his brother Esau, the same brother he had tricked out of a blessing years ago.

That’s a scary situation to be in.

Jacob didn’t know what to expect. Would Esau forgive him? Or would he attack? The fear Jacob felt was very real. But here’s something amazing: before Jacob even saw the danger, God had already sent angels to meet him.

“Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him.” — Genesis 32:1

It was as if God was saying, “Jacob, I know what’s coming. Don’t be afraid. I’m with you.”

Sometimes, God does this for us, too. He meets us before problems arrive. God is already working in your tomorrow, even if today feels uncertain or scary. So trust Him now, knowing He’s ahead of you.

Even though God sent angels to protect Jacob, Jacob was still afraid. Instead of relying fully on God’s promise, he tried to take control. He made detailed plans to keep himself safe.

Look at what Jacob did (Genesis 32:7-8): Jacobs was so afraid. r – verse 7b-8. ^7bHe divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps, ⁸ thinking, “If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the camp that is left will escape.” He divided the people and animals he was traveling with into two groups. His thinking? If Esau attacked one group, maybe the other could escape. It sounds like a smart plan, right? But Jacob was relying more on his strategy than on God’s protection.

Sometimes, we do the same thing. We worry about our future—our jobs, money, or relationships. We plan and plan, trying hard to control everything. We pray, but deep inside, we’re still holding tight to our own plans instead of trusting God completely.

Maybe you’re a parent worrying about your children’s safety or future. You do everything you can, plan everything, pray—even carry that heavy fear like a backpack you can’t put down.

Jacob said, “I trust God,” but his actions said something different: “I need to control this myself.”

Instead of fully surrendering to God, Jacob kept trying to fix things his own way.

He even came up with a clever plan to calm Esau down — sending ahead a huge number of gifts: hundreds of goats, camels, cows, and donkeys (Genesis 32:13–20). Imagine that — he gave away almost everything he owned just to protect himself.

But here’s the key: Jacob surrendered his possessions, but not himself.

And that’s what God was after all along. God doesn’t just want our plans, our money, or our stuff.

He wants us — our hearts, our trust, our willingness to say, “God, I can’t do this on my own.”

Fear-Based Decisions

So why did Jacob make all these decisions? What was driving him? One word: fear. He was afraid of what might happen. And how often are we like that too? So many times, our decisions aren’t really based on faith — they’re based on fear.

Jacob’s plan to divide his family and possessions into two camps sounds smart and strategic, but it came from a heart filled with worry. He thought, “If Esau attacks one group, maybe the other one can escape.”

That’s practical, sure — but it’s not faith. It’s fear.

What Fear-Based Decisions Look Like Here are some signs that we’re making decisions out of fear rather than trust in God: We try to control everything instead of depending on God. We forget who God is and what He has already promised us. Our decisions often lead to stress, division, or regret instead of peace. When fear drives us, we stop seeing God’s hand at work. We start relying on our own.

Faith-Based Decisions: The Better Way

Now, the opposite of fear-based decisions is faith-based decisions.

Here’s what those look like: Faith-based decisions rely on God’s promises and trust that He’s present in every situation. They surrender control and believe that God is working for our good, even when we don’t see it. They recognize that God is in charge of every part of life — not us. They bring peace and courage, even when things look uncertain or scary.

Choosing Faith Over Fear – We all face moments where fear tempts us to act in self-protection – when finances get tight, when health news isn’t good, when relationships get messy, when the future feels unclear.

Like Jacob, we sometimes forget how faithful God has been and how close He still is. And when we forget that, we make choices that shrink our faith and limit God’s blessings.

But faith-based decision-making is different. It’s choosing to remember who God is — the One who provides, protects, and guides. It’s choosing to trust that His plan is better than ours.

And when we make faith-based decisions, we can move forward with courage, knowing that, like Jacob, we have an invisible camp of angels surrounding us — God’s presence watching over every step.

So the question is: How can we move from fear-based to faith-based decisions?

That leads us to our last point

The Wrestling

21 So the present passed on ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.

Jacob Wrestles with God

22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.

23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had.

24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.

In the middle of his fear and stress, something unexpected happened. Verse 24 says, “Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak.” Jacob had been praying for God’s help — and God did come. But instead of sending comfort, God showed up to wrestle him. Wait, what? Jacob was already scared, already tired, already anxious — and now God comes to fight him? Yes. Because God wasn’t just trying to fix Jacob’s situation; He was trying to fix Jacob’s heart.

Jacob’s real problem wasn’t Esau. It was Jacob himself — his pride, his fear, and his need to stay in control. So God said, in a sense, “I’ll help you, Jacob, but first I need to deal with the problem inside you.” And often, God does the same with us. We cry out, “God, please fix this situation!” but God says, “First, I want to fix you.” Because what’s happening inside us matters even more than what’s happening around us.

There are 3 things that happened in this wrestling match that we can learn;

1. Jacob Was Caught — You Can’t Run From God

All Jacob’s life, he ran from problems. He ran from Esau, he ran from Laban, he ran from consequences. But that night, he couldn’t run anymore. God caught him. Notice — Jacob didn’t start the fight. God did.

One interesting thing here is verse 24 did not say “Jacob wrestled with Him” but the verse says a man wrestled with him. ²⁴ And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. What does it mean? God is the one initiating the wrestling match. Jacob wasn’t trying to get something from God; it was actually God who wanted something from Jacob.

God started the wrestling match! Why? Because Jacob had been wrestling with people and with God his whole life, and God wanted him to finally stop running and start trusting.

Sometimes God lets us come to a place where we can’t hide anymore — where our plans fail, our strength runs out, and all we can do is face Him. And that’s grace. Because when God “catches” us, it’s not to crush us but to change us.

Maybe you’ve felt that before. You’ve prayed, planned, worked hard, and yet things didn’t go the way you hoped. You didn’t get into the university you wanted. You didn’t get the job or promotion you were aiming for. Maybe the school you really wanted for your kids didn’t accept them. Or maybe you’ve been praying for something important — a relationship, healing, direction — and it feels like God is silent or even pushing you into a corner.

It’s hard, right? We wonder, “God, why aren’t You helping me?” But what if that very moment — the disappointment, the closed door, the delay — is actually the way God is catching you?

That’s what happened to Jacob. God put him in a place where he couldn’t run anymore. And maybe God is doing the same for you — putting you in a corner so you’ll finally stop relying on your own strength and start trusting Him with your whole heart.

You see, when life goes smoothly, we often depend on ourselves. We plan everything, manage everything, and tell ourselves, “I’ve got this.” But when everything falls apart — when the plan fails, when we’re out of options — that’s when we discover who we’re really trusting in.

And maybe, just maybe, God lets that happen because He loves you too much to let you keep running. He wants to bring you back to Himself.

Like C.S. Lewis once said, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pain — it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

Sometimes God shouts through disappointment to wake us up — not to punish us, but to remind us, “Hey, I’m still here. I’m still in control. You can trust Me.”

Jacob couldn’t run forever — and neither can we. And that’s actually good news. Because when God catches us, He’s not trying to destroy us; He’s trying to draw us closer.

2. Jacob Was Crippled — Being Broken Leads to Blessing

In verse 25, the Bible says, ²⁵ When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him With just one touch, God dislocated Jacob’s hip. One touch — not a punch, not a slam — just a touch. And Jacob couldn’t fight anymore. Why did God do that? Not to hurt Jacob, but to humble him. Jacob had always relied on his strength — his cleverness, his plans, his control. But that night, God took away the thing Jacob trusted most — his ability to fight and win.

Sometimes God allows pain, loss, or weakness to come into our lives to remind us that we need Him. It’s not punishment. God breaks us to make us whole again. Maybe you’ve experienced that. Maybe your plans fell apart. Maybe you got news you didn’t want. Maybe you feel weak or uncertain right now. Could it be that God is using that moment to teach you to depend on Him more deeply? Remember, Jacob’s limp wasn’t a mark of failure — it was a mark of transformation. From that day on, Jacob walked differently — not just physically, but spiritually. When God touched Jacob’s hip, He also touched his heart.

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In wrestling, you can’t fight someone far heavier than you. It’s not allowed — it’s unfair. A lightweight would be crushed by a heavyweight. But imagine Jacob wrestling with God. The difference in “weight” is infinite. God’s power and glory are immeasurable — He is omnipotent, unmatched, beyond all strength. Yet, at Peniel, God didn’t come to crush Jacob. He came to meet him. He lowered His “weight,” restrained His divine power, and let Jacob wrestle Him all night. God could have ended it with one breath, one word, one touch — and when He finally touched Jacob’s hip, Jacob was crippled instantly. That’s how powerful God is. Yet He chose mercy. He chose gentleness.

And that moment at Peniel points us to another night — the night Jesus wrestled in Gethsemane. In the garden, Jesus didn’t wrestle with a man — He wrestled with the will of God, with the weight of sin, with the cup of wrath that was about to be poured out. Jacob said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me.” But Jesus said, “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me — yet not my will, but Yours be done.” Jacob wrestled to gain a blessing for himself; Jesus wrestled to give a blessing to us. Jacob risked his life to save himself; Jesus gave His life to save us.

At Peniel, God touched Jacob and made him limp but live. At Calvary, God struck His own Son, and Jesus died so we could live. The wrath that should have fallen on us fell on Him. The justice that should have crushed us crushed Him. He became weak so we could be made strong. He was forsaken so we could be forgiven. He was wounded so we could be healed.

3. Jacob Was Clinging — Never Let Go

The wrestling went on all night, until morning. Then the man said, “Let me go.” But Jacob held on tightly and said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” Here’s the beautiful part — after Jacob was broken, he didn’t run away. He clung to God. He realized, “This is it. This is where my real blessing comes from — not from my cleverness, not from my plans, not from my strength — but from God Himself.” That’s the turning point.

Jacob’s limp reminded him that he couldn’t rely on himself anymore. So instead of fighting, he started holding on. And that’s what faith looks like. When everything else falls apart, and we stop wrestling against God and start clinging to Him — that’s when we truly win. God blessed Jacob there and changed his name to Israel, which means “he struggles with God.” That new name marked a new identity and a new life. Jacob the deceiver became Israel the overcomer.

But don’t miss this: the greatest blessing Jacob received that night wasn’t his new name or even protection from Esau — it was God Himself. The real blessing wasn’t what God gave Jacob; the real blessing was that Jacob met God face to face and lived. At the end of it all, Jacob’s story reminds us that the true blessing isn’t a better plan, a smoother life, or even answered prayers. The true blessing is knowing God, being changed by Him, and learning to trust Him with everything.

So maybe you’re wrestling with something tonight — a fear, a disappointment, or a broken dream. Maybe God isn’t taking it away right now because He’s doing something deeper inside you. Don’t let go. Don’t run away. Cling to Him. Because when the struggle is over, you’ll discover what Jacob did: the true blessing isn’t what you get from God — the true blessing is God Himself.

Jacob became lame and needed a staff to walk. Physically weak but spiritually strong, he later blessed his children and grandchildren while leaning on that staff. That’s the picture of a man who had learned to depend fully on God. This was the blessing Jacob passed on — not through strength, but through surrender. Jacob left home 20 years earlier relying on his own power, but he returned by God’s grace. The man who once ran from God finally learned to walk with God.

 

 

Discussion questions:

 

1. What struck you the most from the sermon?
2. What is the difference between ‘the surface problem’ and ‘the heart problem’? How do you recognise the heart problem?
3. Why is it far easier for you to make a fear-based decision than a faith-based decision?
4. God had to break Jacob’s strength for him to stop wrestling and start embracing God. What does it teach us about Christianity?
5. How does this story point to the gospel, and how does it help you to make a faith-based decision?