The Blessing of Struggle

RENOVATION CHURCH

THE BLESSING OF STRUGGLE

How are we doing today? Doing good?

We are in week 9 of a series called: THE LIFE OF JACOB

Let me tell you, this series has been incredible—GO BACK

If you are new here, I AM DAVID SORN...If you are not new here, I

got a really good tan this last week...I am not Pastor David...Intro

If you have your Bible open them with me to Genesis 32(pg 24)

22 That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female

servants and his eleven sons and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.

23 After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his

possessions. 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him

till daybreak. 25 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. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is

daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.

27 The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered.

28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,

because you have struggled with God and with humans and have

overcome.” 29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied,

“Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob

called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face,

and yet my life was spared.” 31 The sun rose above him as he passed

Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day

the Israelites do not eat the tendon attached to the socket of the hip,

because the socket of Jacob’s hip was touched near the tendon.

About a month ago, I did my first Backyard Ultra.

Now, if you’ve never heard of a Backyard Ultra, it’s basically a race

designed by somebody who hates people...There is no finish line.

Every hour, on the hour, you have to run 4.167 miles.

You finish the loop—or what they call a yard—and whatever time

you have left in that hour is yours.

So if it takes you 50 minutes, congrats—you have 10 minutes to sit

down, eat something, question every decision you’ve ever made,

then do it again. Every hour—4.167 miles—Again And again And again.

Until you can’t—or won’t—go anymore.

So unlike a marathon, where somebody can tell you, “The finish

line is right there”... a Backyard Ultra is a race with no finish line.

All you can do is take it one yard at a time.

Here’s what I discovered: Training could get me to the starting line.

But eventually, the race was going to ask me a question that training

couldn’t answer for me: What are you going to do when this gets hard?

Because it’s one thing to believe you’re tough when you’re rested.

It’s one thing to believe you won’t quit when nothing hurts.

It’s one thing to say, “I’ll keep going” before your legs are

screaming at you to stop.

But eventually the race gives you an opportunity to find out what’s

actually in you—And that’s exactly what happened.

There came a point where it stopped being about running.

It became a fight—A fight to take another step—A fight to start another

yard—A fight to keep going when everything in me wanted to stop.

And here’s what I’ve realized since: The race didn’t create what

was in me. The training did that. The race revealed it. (Resolve)

The struggle gave me an opportunity to discover what had been

developing in me all along.

That’s easy to talk about when it’s a race I willingly signed up for.

But life has a way of entering us into races we never registered for.

Nobody signs up for the diagnosis—Nobody signs up for

heartbreak—Nobody signs up for disappointment.

Nobody signs up to lose someone they love—Nobody signs up for the

season where everything you thought would happen...doesn’t.

There are struggles we choose because we know they’ll make us

stronger. And then there are struggles we would never choose...

that somehow still produce something in us.

Which has caused me to wrestle with a question:

What if the struggle is the blessing?

Not because pain is the blessing.

Not because loss is the blessing.

Not because suffering is the blessing.

But because sometimes it’s in the struggle that we discover

what’s really inside of us...it’s in the struggle that we come to the

end of ourselves... and sometimes it’s in the struggle that we

encounter God in a way we never would have otherwise.

And that’s exactly where we find Jacob in Genesis 32.

In the fight of his life.

There are things I’ve walked through that I wouldn’t wish on

anybody. And there are things you’ve walked through that you

would never choose to experience again.

But isn’t it interesting that some of the things you would never

want to go through again...PRODUCED SOMETHING IN YOU THAT YOU

WOULD NEVER WANT TO GIVE BACK?

It changed you—Strengthened you—Deepened you.

And most importantly...it drove you to God. (I cant tell you how many)

“God, give me the opportunity.”

“God, give me the job.”

“God, grow the business.”

“God, give me the relationship.”

“God, give me children.”

“God, use my life.”

Then the thing you prayed for came w/ a struggle you didn’t expect.

Because sometimes the blessing comes wrapped in a struggle.

And Genesis 32 gives us this strange picture.

Jacob wrestles with God all night.

He asks God:

“I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

And God blesses him. But when the sun comes up...

Jacob walks away limping.

He asked for a blessing. He got a limp. Or did he?

Because the limp itself wasn’t the blessing.

The limp was evidence that he had encountered God.

And maybe that’s the real blessing.

So here are three things I believe the struggle does:

1. THE STRUGGLE REVEALS YOU

Jacob had been wrestling his entire life.

Even in his mother’s womb, he wrestled with his brother.

He was born grabbing Esau’s heel.

He schemed for the birthright.

He deceived his father for the blessing.

He manipulated. He maneuvered. He ran.

And now, years later, Jacob finds himself wrestling again.

At some point, when patterns keep repeating in our lives, we have

to have the courage to ask: “What role am I playing in this?”

Not every struggle is your fault. Not everything that happened to

you happened because of you. But maturity asks:

“God, is there something in me You want to reveal through this?”

Because you can spend your whole life changing locations, changing

jobs, changing relationships, changing churches, changing friend

groups and keep finding yourself in the same struggle.

Eventually we have to ask:

What’s the common denominator? Who?

For Jacob, the common denominator was Jacob.

And watch what happens in the struggle.

Jacob says:

“I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

God responds: “What is your name?”

That’s an interesting question because God already knows his

name...But Jacob needed to say it.

Years earlier, when his father asked who he was, Jacob lied.

“I am Esau.”

But this time: “Jacob.”

No trickery—No scheming—No pretending—No blaming.

Here is the thing:

GOD WONT BLESS WHO YOU’RE PRETENDING TO BE

God doesn’t want the version of you you’ve learned to present to

everybody else—God wants you...I’m Jacob...stop pretending

And there, in the struggle, Jacob finally acknowledges himself.

And when Jacob finally owns his name...God gives him a new one.

The moment Jacob finally owns who he has been...

God tells him who he can become. That’s grace.

The struggle revealed something that comfort had allowed him to hide.

Sometimes God uses struggle like a mirror.

Not to condemn us—To transform us.

Because you can’t surrender what you refuse to acknowledge.

YOU CANNOT DEFEAT WHAT YOU CANNOT DEFINE

2. THE STRUGGLE REDUCES YOU

They wrestle through the night and eventually God touches

Jacob’s hip. That’s all it takes. A touch.

And suddenly the man who had been wrestling all night...

doesn’t have the strength to wrestle anymore.

God could have ended this wrestling match whenever He wanted.

This was never a contest between equals.

God wasn’t trying to discover whether He could defeat Jacob.

God was allowing Jacob to discover the limits of Jacob.

And I think that’s the goal of some of the struggles we walk

through: TO BRING US TO THE END OF OURSELVES.

Because as long as Jacob has strength...Jacob wrestles.

But when Jacob loses his strength...Jacob clings.

That’s the transition. From wrestling...to clinging.

And some of us know exactly what that feels like.

You prayed—You strategized—You worked—You tried to fix it.

You called everybody you knew—You read the book.

You listened to the podcast—You did everything you knew to do.

Until eventually you came to a place where you said:

“Jesus, I have nothing left but You.”

And you thought that was your weakest moment. But maybe it

was actually the moment you discovered your greatest strength.

Paul says in Romans 5:

“We glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces

perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”

We don’t glory for the suffering. We glory in it. Why?

Because God can produce something through it.

And desperation has a way of doing that.

Think about the woman with the issue of blood. Twelve years.

She’s spent everything—She’s tried everything.

Mark tells us that instead of getting better, she’s gotten worse.

She’s at the end of herself, but her desperation drives her to Jesus

She says: “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”

And she reaches...It’s Funny what just one touch can do

DESPERATION BROUGHT HER TO JESUS.

FAITH CAUSED HER TO REACH FOR HIM.

And when she touched Him, Jesus stopped.

There were crowds bumping into Jesus...but there was

something different about her touch.

Jesus said: “Who touched my clothes?”

The disciples essentially say: “Jesus, everybody is touching You!”

Somebody touched Me differently.

Power had gone out from Him.

There’s something about desperate faith.

It doesn’t just get near Jesus. It reaches for Him.

Jacob reaches—the woman reaches—And maybe today you’ve

reached the end of yourself...Good....Because

WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE THE STRENGTH TO WRESTLE ANYMORE...CLING.

Cling to the cross—to His promises—to His Word—Cling to Jesus.

Because the goal was never for you to become strong enough

that you don’t need Him. The goal is to discover that He is enough.

Paul’s season—God’s response: Strength is made perfect

3. THE STRUGGLE MARKS YOU

Genesis says:

“The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping

because of his hip.”

Jacob walks away with a limp. Nobody wants the limp.

But again: The limp wasn’t the blessing.

It was evidence of the encounter.

Hebrews 11:6 says:

“He rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Jeremiah 29 says:

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

What’s the reward?

We get Him—We seek Him and we find Him—That’s the reward.

Sometimes we’re seeking God because we want something or

want Him to change the situation.

And God says: “What if I give you something better?

What if I give you Me?”

Jacob entered that night wanting a blessing.

He walked away having encountered God

And for the rest of his life, his walk testified: I’ve been with God.

What if we lived perpetually with a limp?

Not perpetually broken—Not perpetually suffering.

But perpetually aware: I need Him—only wrestle up close

Every step saying:

I can’t do this without Him. I don’t want to do this without Him.

My strength isn’t enough—My wisdom isn’t enough.

My talent isn’t enough...I need Jesus.

Because sometimes God’s blessing isn’t what He gives you.

It’s who you become through the encounter.

And here’s the beautiful thing about your limp:

Eventually, somebody else is going to see it...can’t hide it forever

They’re going to walk through something you already have

And suddenly the thing you thought disqualified you becomes the

thing God uses to minister through you.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1 that God comforts us in our troubles

so that we can comfort others with the comfort we

ourselves have received from God.

Your limp can point somebody else to Jesus.

You can look at them and say: “I’ve been there.”

I know what that darkness feels like.

I know what it’s like to wonder if you’re going to make it.

I know what it’s like to pray and not understand.

I know what it’s like to go on my own ability/Talent

But I also know what it’s like to discover...He’s enough.

Maybe that’s why you’re here today. Maybe something in your life

has been driving you to the end of yourself.

And you’ve been asking: “God, why am I going through this?”

I can’t answer every why, but I know where I want your struggle to

lead you. To the feet of Jesus.

Because ultimately, the greatest problem in our lives isn’t around

us. It’s within us—It’s sin.

Like Jacob, all of us eventually have to acknowledge who we

really are—No pretending—No scheming—No hiding.

Scripture says: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

And UNTIL WE SEE OURSELVES AS SINNERS, WE’LL NEVER

UNDERSTAND OUR NEED FOR A SAVIOR.

But this is the good news: Jesus came for sinners.

He lived the life we couldn’t live. He died the death we deserved.

He took our sin upon Himself on the cross. He was buried.

And three days later, He rose again.

And today you don’t have to fix yourself.

You don’t have to save yourself.

You don’t have to wrestle your way into God’s approval.

You cling to what Jesus has already done.

Jacob finally stopped wrestling and started clinging.

Maybe that’s your invitation today—Stop fighting—pretending.

Stop trying to do this in your own strength. Cling to Jesus.

Jesus isn’t merely the One who gets you through the struggle.

Jesus is the treasure you discover in it.

So what if the struggle is the blessing?

Not because the pain is good—loss is good—the limp is good.

The limp isn’t the blessing.

The blessing is that somewhere in the wrestling...you found Him.

And if I have to choose...

I’d rather walk with a limp after encountering God than run

at full strength without Him