October 27, 2026 Devo

October 27th, 2026

Powerful Words from the Prophets
“Even in the womb, Jacob struggled with his brother; when he became a man, he even fought with God. Yes, he wrestled with the angel and won. He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him. There at Bethel he met God face to face, and God spoke to him—the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the Lord is his name! So now, come back to your God. Act with love and justice, and always depend on him.” – Hosea 12:3-6 (NLT)
“Wrestling with God”

Have you ever wrestled with God? I have. About LOTS of things. Sometimes we wrestle with God about wanting to do things our way rather than His way. Sometimes we wrestle with God because there is something that we really believe is good, but God is trying to convince us that there is something better. Sometimes we wrestle with God because He’s taking too long to answer our prayers. Sometimes we wrestle with God because God answers with a “No.” Sometimes we wrestle with God because we’re confused or stuck or unsure. And, of course, there are some of us who LIKE a good argument, so we wrestle with God about EVERYTHING!
God uses Jacob as an example to His People. Jacob didn’t always do things the right way. God points out that Jacob wrestled with his brother coming out of the womb! But Jacob’s name meant “deceiver.” And he lived up to it. It was one of the character flaws that God had to deliver him from. It took a wrestling match to do it. Interestingly enough, God commended Jacob for wrestling. In the end, Jacob seeks God’s blessing—and God is able to shape him into the man of God he needed to be.
Maybe some of us NEED a good wrestling with God today. Sometimes instead of wrestling with God, we just ignore Him. We just go our own way, do our own thing, and deal with the consequences. Sometimes we just go on with God as if everything is okay. We treat God like we do our spouse when we’ve got a “cold war” going on between us. Sometimes we feel as if we can’t express our true thoughts and emotions to God. But come on, it’s not as if God doesn’t know how we feel! Sometimes a good wrestling match is EXACTLY what we need to get things off our chest and get to a place of realness with God. Then maybe God can touch us and bless us as He did with Jacob.
So go ahead. Lay it all out with God. He can handle your anger. He can handle your questions. He’s not afraid of your doubts and fears and frustrations. Don’t keep it inside any longer. Go to the mat with God as many times as it takes. In the end, He will win, of course. But so will YOU. It might even be the turning point of your life, as it was with Jacob. That’s God’s Word for you today.