One night Jacob fought alone with someone in the dark. This was new for Jacob. He had never entered a fight that he couldn't win. By daybreak, his opponent had wrenched Jacob's hip so severely that he walked with a limp for the rest of his life.

Jacob knew that this opponent had special power. "I will not let you go unless you bless me," Jacob declared. If he couldn't win, at least he could wrench a blessing from this powerful opponent. So he did.

The opponent gave Jacob a new name, Israel, which means, "He struggles with God." In that moment, Jacob learned that he had been struggling with a messenger of the Lord himself (see Hosea 12:4).

The unseen wrestler said to Jacob, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."

Hard as it seems, our greatest hardships, our most difficult challenges, our most horrible trials may be one of God's ways of bringing us his blessing.

I don't know how that works.

When our son died, I didn't feel blessed at all, and I still don't. My wife and I still "walk with a limp." We have four living children instead of five. But through it all God is with us.

Maybe that's the best blessing one can receive.

　　某天晚上，雅各在黑暗中独自和一个人搏斗，这是他新的体验，因为他在搏斗中从来没有失败过。到了黎明，对手大力扭伤了雅各的大腿窝，从此他的大腿便瘸了。

　　雅各知道他的对手有特别的能力，他表示：「你不给我祝福，我就不容你去。」尽管不能战胜，他至少也可以从这强壮的对手那里拿到一点祝福吧。结果，他真的如愿以偿了。

　　他的对手赐他一个新名字「以色列」，意思是「他与神较力。」在这一刻，雅各知道他一直在与主自己的使者较力（参看何西阿书12:4）。

　　这位肉眼看不见的角力手对雅各说：「你的名不要再叫雅各，要叫以色列，因为你与神与人较力，都得了胜。」

　　看来我们最大的困难、最难熬的挑战、最可怕的试炼，都可能是神带给我们祝福的途径，这些事实看来很难接受，当年的我也不明白其中的逻辑。

　　儿子去世时，我完全不觉得是祝福，就是至今我也不觉得是。我和太太仍然像「瘸腿」那样没有复原，我们有四个儿女在世，而不是五个。然而我们感觉到，神一直与我们同在。

　　或许这就是人能得到的最美好祝福吧。

Lord, we don't understand why some things happen, and sometimes we wrestle with you. Jesus, thank you for being as close as my own heart. Stay close. Stay close. Amen.

　　主啊，我们不明白为什么某些事情会发生，所以有时我们与祢力争。感谢祢，因祢像我自己的心一样亲近我。我切切求祢一直与我亲近。阿们。

(听歌默想: 主你是我力量 (讚美之泉)- 土豆  YouTube )