When I was a part of the campus ministry at Juilliard I knew a young disciple with a huge baritone voice, imposing stature and a lot of charisma. He went on to play numerous roles on Broadway. I had just confided in him about something that had annoyed me. Although I don’t remember what it was, I do remember his response. “Are you Strugglin’ (pronounced STRUUUU-glin’)?!” followed by a high pitched laugh that seemed completely out of place. I started laughing too, and I’ve been laughing at that ever since. Word got around and it wasn’t long before all the disciples would ask each other, “Are you struuuu-glin’?!” To this day when things get tense around the house my wife will ask me, “Are you struuuu-glin’?!” It never fails to break the tension.

I think struggling has come to be associated with having a hard time spiritually. Perhaps the opposite is true. Consider Jacob:

Jacob Prepares to Meet Esau

Genesis 32 1 [a]Jacob also went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. [b]3 Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. 4 He instructed them: “This is what you are to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, I have been staying with Laban and have remained there till now. 5 I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, male and female servants. Now I am sending this message to my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes.’ “ 6 When the messengers returned to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men are with him.” 7 In great fear and distress Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, [c] and the flocks and herds and camels as well. 8 He thought, “If Esau comes and attacks one group, [d] the group [e] that is left may escape.” 9 Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, LORD, you who said to me, ‘Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper,’ 10 I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two camps. 11 Save me, I pray, from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid he will come and attack me, and also the mothers with their children. 12 But you have said, ‘I will surely make you prosper and will make your descendants like the sand of the sea, which cannot be counted.’ “13 He spent the night there, and from what he had with him he selected a gift for his brother Esau: 14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 16 He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, and said to his servants, “Go ahead of me, and keep some space between the herds.” 17 He instructed the one in the lead: “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘Who do you belong to, and where are you going, and who owns all these animals in front of you?’ 18 then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a gift sent to my lord Esau, and he is coming behind us.’ ” 19 He also instructed the second, the third and all the others who followed the herds: “You are to say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 20 And be sure to say, ‘Your servant Jacob is coming behind us.’ ” For he thought, “I will pacify him with these gifts I am sending on ahead; later, when I see him, perhaps he will receive me.” 21 So Jacob’s gifts went on ahead of him, but he himself spent the night in the camp.

Jacob Wrestles With God

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, ^[f] because you have struggled with God and with human beings 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, ^[g] 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, ^[h] 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.

Jacob means he grasps the heel (figuratively, he deceives). Israel means he struggles with God.

Jacob actually got better with age. He started out smart and ambitious, but his success damaged his relationships. In this passage Jacob was struggling. He left his father-in-law Laban after amassing great wealth in livestock. Laban felt cheated and Jacob felt justified. Jacob sent a gift to his brother Esau to try to make peace for having tricked him out of his blessing and birthright. He sent his family and property across the Jabbok ahead of him, divided into two groups so that one group might survive if Esau attacked. God directly intervened by sending this “man” who wrestled with Jacob all night. In the end, Jacob could not be made to give up, so the “man” touched Jacob’s hip socket causing the hip to be wrenched. Who was this guy? Whoever this “man” was, he had authority from God to bless Jacob and give him a new name, Israel, because he struggled with God and with human beings and overcame. Perhaps a more relevant question for us is who is Jacob? Or who was Jacob becoming through his struggles?

Jacob’s nature from the very beginning was to struggle with human beings (Genesis 25:24-26). He was being transformed into a man willing to struggle with God. Over the course of his life, Jacob’s struggles brought out his better nature. How is God allowing me to struggle? Is it bringing out my better nature? Who is transforming me: God or my challenges?

• He struggled to be with his family and to protect them (Genesis 32:22). Am I willing to struggle to be close to my family? What do they need materially, emotionally and spiritually?
• He struggled to make good for his past sins (Genesis 32:6-21). Is repentance as much a part of my life today as when I became a Christian?
• His whole life was a struggle! (Genesis 37 & 47:7-10) When does it get easier? Do I really want it to get easier?

God transforms us through our challenges. The world teaches us that we should expect life to get easier as we advance. As people of faith we understand that the struggle is to draw close to God and glorify Him in our challenges. Life is tough, but it is also inspiring, glorious, awe-inspiring and funny. I’m still struuuu-glin’. Thank God for giving me brothers who help me to have a sense of humor as He uses my struggles to make me a better man.