When I taught middle school, one of the assignments I would always give to my students was to discover the meaning of their names. For some of them, this task was easy, one that would involve a simple question to their parents. Other students would need to dig deeply into the meaning of an obscure word that their parents just happened to like. All words, though, even our names, have meanings that can frame much of how we see ourselves.
When Jacob was born a short time after his twin brother, Esau, he held onto his brother’s heel, trying to pull him out of the way so that he might be born first and be set to inherit as the elder son. This action resulted in his being named “Jacob,” which means “one who supplants.” Jacob spent most of his early life living up to his name by buying his brother’s inheritance for a bowl of lentil soup, tricking his father into giving him a blessing, and even gaining great wealth at the expense of his father-in-law. Jacob had become the “one who supplants” anyone who got in his way. And then things changed.
At the climax of an epic wrestling match, the patriarch Jacob was renamed “Israel,” which means “one who struggles with God.” Many of us, too, feel we spend time struggling with God, often asking that same question, “Why?” Why did this pandemic happen now? Why did my loved one get cancer? Why am I facing a crippling blow to my finances? The beautiful outcome that can occur, though, is that rather than struggle against our Creator, we can face the struggles of life with God by our side.