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This past week, the topic of anxiety and fear came up a few times in our Facebook group. As sad as it is, it’s not surprising since anxiety and fear are incredibly common today. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, nearly 40 million adults in the United States alone wrestle with anxiety disorders, making it the most common mental illness in the country. With all the uncertainties and challenges we face, it’s no wonder many of us feel overwhelmed. Whether it’s fear of the future, concerns about health, or worries about relationships, these feelings can be paralyzing.

I can tell you to relax, change your way of thinking, and remind yourself that the Spirit within you is greater than anything this world could ever toss your way. But I know that for many of you, this fear is more than a passing thought. It’s a deep-rooted, persistent struggle that you just can’t shake off. In many cases, there’s a physical reaction to fear: your heart races, your breathing becomes shallow, your muscles tense up, and sometimes you may even feel dizzy. It can paralyze our decision-making, creativity, and in some cases, even our hope.

If you’ve ever felt this way, you’re not alone in your struggle. Genesis 32 tells us that when Jacob heard that Esau was coming to meet him, he was “in great fear and distress.” The key point to notice here is how Jacob handled his fear. Instead of running away from the situation, he wrestled with God all night. How many of us are willing to do that? I must confess, I never have. Certainly, I’ve struggled with fears that have warranted an all-night prayer meeting, but I don’t recall ever wrestling with God with such intensity and persistence. Sadly, I don’t think that most people value persistence as much as we should.

Another thing we don’t value enough is the trial itself. As difficult as they are, trials nurture our growth and deepen our faith. James 1:2-4 (NIV) reminds us, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

Now, notice what it says at the end of Genesis 32:29, “Then he blessed him there.” Jacob received his blessing from God right in the thick of his struggle, not after it was over. This powerful moment illustrates a profound truth: God’s blessings often come to us in the midst of our trials, not just before they begin or after they end. It’s in those moments of wrestling, in the heart of our hardest battles, that God meets us with His grace, favor, and blessing.

As Charles Spurgeon beautifully expresses in his sermon “He Blessed Him There” (Sermon 3219), we should begin to welcome our trials: 

“Believe that, for the present trial in which you are perhaps now entering, it shall be written, ‘He blessed him there, where he tried him.’ He will bless you there, where He is trying you, in the waters, in the furnace when you are being refined again and again, and the hot coals are being heaped upon you, He will bless you there. The disciples feared, we are told, as they entered into the cloud, but it was there that they saw the Savior transfigured. And often we fear the cloud into which we enter when we are only passing into the secret place of the Most High, where, under the shadow of the Almighty, we shall have yet more delightful visions of Himself.

If we were wise, we should begin to welcome trials. We would rather fear to be without them, for up till now, what do we not owe to the furnace, to the rod, to the threshing flail? Scarcely has a mercy of any great spiritual value come to us at all except by the way of the cross. I am sure I may look upon every choice blessing I have enjoyed as having come to me in rumbling wagons like the good things which came from Egypt to old father Jacob. We have been blessed in places of trial, let us not, therefore, dread to go to such places again, but go on our way towards heaven feeling that whatever difficulty we meet with shall only be another of the spots in which God shall bless us. ‘He blessed him there.’”

This Week’s Printable

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