Struggling With Our Weaknesses

Struggling With Our Weaknesses

So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

Genesis 32:30

Jacob provided the church with a beautiful example of faith struggling in weakness. This helps us to see that the Hebrew ancestors and prophets weren’t like rocks that showed no signs of weakness. If that were the case, we would have to despair because of the weaknesses we feel in ourselves. Our bodies often complain that we’re being treated unfairly. We don’t want to suffer and be mistreated by others. But the example of the Hebrew ancestors can comfort us because they too were not always firm and strong in their faith.

Jacob was comforted by showers of blessings from God. He also received the benefits of the blessings that were given to his father, Isaac, and grandfather, Abraham. Nevertheless, he struggled with his weaknesses.

You should say to yourself, “I am not alone when I’m afraid of God’s anger, when I wonder if God has chosen me, and when I worry about losing my faith. I am not alone!” All believers—every believer past and present who has ever believed in God’s Son—experience the same struggle. God uses these experiences to refine us. Eventually, like Jacob, you’ll be able to stand up and joyfully proclaim, “I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”