Genesis 31:24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 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. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.”
Many of us have heard this account often. It's an intense situation. Jacob is about to face Esau after years of separation. He is filled with fear, because they had not left on good terms. When Jacob wrestles with this "man," he hangs on until He blesses him. The response is a changing of his name from Supplanter, manipulator, to Israel. Jacob had changed -rather, been changed by God. He was no longer the same man who had tricked Esau; he was now the patriarch becoming a nation. God gives us a new name, a new life, and calls to us to walk in it, to trust Him for it, and believe He knows what He's doing.
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