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. (Hosea 12:3-4 New Living Translation)

Jacob wrestled all of his life. To begin with, he wrestled with his brother Esau. At birth, the two wrestled over which would be the firstborn. Afterward, they wrestled over their father Isaac’s blessing. Jacob also wrestled with his father-in-law Laban. The two wrestled over Laban’s daughters and later Jacob’s wages. 

Jacob even wrestled with God. In his flight from Esau, Jacob tried to strike a bargain with God at Bethel (Genesis 28:10-22). He offered God a tithe of his material possessions in exchange for God’s blessing. After being reconciled with Esau, Jacob returned to Bethel, which means “the house of God.” This time, Jacob wasn’t merely passing through, but settling down. This time, he wasn’t trying to haggle with God, but offering God all that he had with no strings attached (Genesis 35:1-15).

Though he wrestled with God and others all of his life, Jacob never threw in the towel. He never gave up. Consequently, he eventually prevailed. One thing for sure, if Jacob had quit, he would have never prevailed. Likewise, you must refuse to quit if you hope to prevail. Let us be ever mindful of the admonition of the Apostle Paul, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9).   

There is no easy way to get power with God. The only way is to prevail with Him. God simply refuses to trust His power with anyone unwilling to wrestle with Him for a lifetime. To be any less serious about the power of God will result in us never knowing anything of it. 

DON’T QUIT

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and its turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won, had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.