How to Wrestle with GOD

Why is it?

If a man hears the voice of God while sitting in his trailer and smoking meth, then he has a mental disorder.

But if a man hears the voice of God while wearing a suit, then he’s a minister.”

—Doc Park

I was talking to a friend the other day….

Here’s the highlights:

1. He was not happy.
2. Life was unfair.
3. He was never going back to prison.
4. When he dies, he’s going to ask God “Why do you hate me so much?”
5. And he wanted God to know that the feeling was mutual.

He was looking for a fight.  Not with me but with God.

Made me think of Jacob in the Bible.

Jacob was heading back home.  To meet his brother.  The one he had robbed.  The one likely to kill him.

He set up a camp and some guy came up.  They fought.  All night.  And Jacob won.  Sort of.  Jacob got the dominant position and wouldn’t let go.  So the dude dislocated Jacob’s hip.  (He never walked the same again.)

Jacob demanded a blessing.  And the man complied.  And he gave Jacob a new name: Israel. Which means one who struggles with god.

Was this god?  Was this an angel?  Was it just a man?   Was it a vision?  A myth?  A parable?  Was Jacob tripping on Ayahuasca?  The truth is….It doesn’t matter.  Don’t miss the forest for the trees.

Jacob fought with God and came away with a nasty limp, a blessing, a new name…..and more importantly, a new identity.  Before this metaphysical wrestling match, God was the God of his Fathers.  But after, he was the God of Jacob.  Before, Jacob was the  supplanter or the  “one who walks crookedly” but after, he was Israel (the “one who wrestles with God”).

Here’s the deal.  It’s better to walk straight through life with a limp than to stand up straight and walk crooked.

Fighting with god isn’t always the worst thing.  Sometimes you have to face your fear, your concerns, your inner struggles.

Maybe it’s after the struggle that the peace comes.  Maybe that’s what it takes to actually find yourself.  Maybe that’s what you have to go through to get the new name, the new mission, the new identity.

Questions aren’t evil.  Answers aren’t dangerous.  It’s like Nietzsche said, “All truths are bloody truths to me”.

Faith doesn’t mean: don’t ask questions.

Faith doesn’t mean: only listen to the experts.

Faith doesn’t mean: ignore common sense.

Faith doesn’t mean: life will be easy.

Faith doesn’t mean: God hates you unless you follow the rules.

Faith doesn’t mean: you will always understand the rules.

Faith isn’t religion.

Faith is something else.

It’s a feeling.  A whisper.  A knowing without knowing.

It’s kindness over doctrine.

It’s peace.

It’s love.

It’s truth.

But most of all……it’s hope.

Back to my story…

My friend told me about the nightmares.  About his anxiety.  About his seclusion.  About the increasing paranoia.  About the meth amphetamine use.

And I’m thinking…..what happened when you were young?  Were you wrestling God?  Or something else? Because you’re still fighting now.  (When most people see thugs, addicts, insanity…….I see scared children)

Some people are afraid to contend with God.  They have been taught not to question.

They think of God as some type of monster waiting to judge and torture.  (This is a false idol created and maintained by the industrial church complex)

But I also wonder if people are afraid to question because they are afraid of the answers they might find.

I want to tell my friend that it’s okay.  I know he’s hurting.  I know his life has been full of pain.  But the one thing that he can’t give up is hope.  Because hope and a strong right hook is how you get to the other side.

With all our religion, our idols, our money, our procedures, our habits, our rituals……God calls Jacob  “Israel”.  The one that struggles with God.

This is who we are.

And it’s okay.

Whatever your struggle is.

It’s okay.

You are not alone.

And it’s okay.

We wrestle together.

We wrestle fate.  weakness.  mortality.  God.

And when there’s nothing left but track marks and tear stains…..

there’s still  hope

and maybe that’s all we really needed in the first place.

Hope

and a strong right hook

p.s.

If you’re a skeptic, mystic, atheist, agnostic, or christian and are looking for a place with an open discussion of religion, philosophy, quantum physics.  A place where all questions are fair game.  Our door is open…

FBC Pontotoc 9:50 Sunday mornings.  In the basement.  Just ask for the bald, hippie doctor’s class.  They’ll know who you’re talking about.

p.p.s.

If you want to learn how to wrestle, get the dominant position, and dislocate a joint:  Check out UFM in Tupelo.  662-680-4848.

Tell them I sent you

p.p.p.s.

Help with addiction: 662-322-0996

Thanks for reading!