In a letter to a newspaper, an intellectual claimed those who have many gods — one for every need in life — are smarter than those who have only one God. His reason? They can blame the gods who don’t perform and praise the ones who do. But those who worship only one God have difficulty, he claims, in explaining how that at times He appears inconsistent.
But Jacob “wrestled” with [the angel of] the Lord over unfulfilled promises God had made — until He touched him and renamed him Israel. My question is: Would you not rather ‘wrestle’ with God over His as yet unfulfilled promises in your life, than blame a great number of indifferent gods who appear to be on permanent vacation? Or maybe you choose to thank random coincidence?
Not me. I believe that God interacts with those who believe. Not just that He exists, but that He rewards those who diligently believe. Following the path of the true faith isn’t always easy, but those who do so refuse to come up with religious platitudes to excuse His apparent absence from the scene when needed. Example: “We must accept that it was not God’s will” — after He did not give us what was asked for. God’s will is God’s Word. It’s that simple. The True and Living God does not need us to make excuses for Him.
Some say, “His silence on the matter was His answer.” That can be the case, but it’s not the best foundation for a satisfying prayer life.
But is Humanity wrestling with Divinity any better, you might ask? Absolutely! God has given us many promises that are ours to claim in Jesus’ Name. We do not wrestle with God for these but wrestle against the principalities and powers that seek to prevent us from entering into His promises and enjoying our inheritance.
We also ‘wrestle’ with the matter of whether a thing is God’s Sovereignty or Our Responsibility. This is the case in many important and sometimes vital matters. This kind of ‘wrestling’ is good spiritual and mental exercise, and we should view it as such.
It comes down to the question: Is the second part of Hebrews 11:6 true or not? Reading the entire chapter answers this clearly. You might prefer to limit your faith to the fact that God exists, but I and a countless number of others are seeking God diligently with a view to Him rewarding us abundantly!