When anxiety hits, wrestle for your blessing

‘Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your family, and I will deal well with you’: I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant; for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff, and now I have become two companies. Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children. For You said, ‘I will surely treat you well, and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.’ ”’ Genesis 32:9-12

This is what being a servant of the Most High God looks like. Jacob was blessed—he could admit that. But being blessed doesn’t eliminate you from being scared and in distress. Jacob came humbly to the Lord, knowing who God was, what God already did and that he was unworthy of all the blessings he received. But still, he went to God and asked Him for help.

Jacob knew his brother Esau might be mad with him, but he didn’t think that Esau was so mad after 20+ years that he’d come after him 400 deep. Jacob was NOT expecting to come home to all that smoke. So yeah, Jacob was scared and in distress.

You’re never too blessed to ask God for help.

Maybe I’m alone in this, but sometimes I feel guilty for being unhappy in my situation, even though I’m so blessed. I have an incredible career. My family is healthy and supportive. I have great friends. I’m growing spiritually, and God is using me to minister to others. I have a relationship with the Creator of the Universe. I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which God has shown me. For I was a motherless child, abused, and was never supposed to be anything. Now…I have two companies.

But, I still get distressed. I still worry that people will think I’m some Bible-thumping Jesus freak and it will impact my business. I still get scared that I’ll never find love, get married or have a healthy family of my own. I still become afraid that my own limitations and insecurities will make me ineffective in ministry. This is my truth. I’m kicking it real real to y’all right now. I’m human.

But like Jacob, I trust that if I’m obedient to the voice of God, He’ll do what He said He’ll do.

I’ve been through some stuff. So, what we’re NOT going to do is walk away from this situation and the Lord NOT bless me. So, I worship harder. I read the Word more. I journal more. I get in God’s face like I’ve been waiting on Him at the door. He’s the same God! He will do what He said He’ll do. It might be a wrestle, but then just get ready to wrestle. You’re equipped to wrestle for your blessing! And remember, it’s not just for you. It’s for your family, your children, your generations. Wrestle for your blessing (Genesis 32:22-32)!

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, You are the same GOD yesterday, today and forever more. You know the inner workings of my heart and all that You’re doing on my behalf in the heavenlies. I ask now for Your unmerited favor. When I am in distressed and scared, I’m never too blessed to ask You for help. You don’t look at me and say, “no, you’ve had enough. Leave some blessings for someone else.” There is more than enough because You are more than enough. I rebuke guilt, insecurity and sadness because I know that does not come from You. Loose the fruit of Your everlasting love, grace and abundance. In Jesus name. Amen.

Have you ever had to wrestle for a blessing while dealing with stress? Share below!