I’m reminded of Jacob when he was coming back home to meet Esau after being at the house of Laban his uncle.
He was mistreated and abused while there. He served Laban for 7 years to get Rachel as his wife. On his wedding night, Laban brought Leah, his oldest daughter to his bed. That must have been a very dark night for Jacob not to realize it was not Rachel, the one he bargained for. It wasn’t till the next morning that Jacob realized the switch. Laban explained that it was not their custom to give the younger daughter before the older daughter had a husband.
When Jacob decided he needed to build his estate, the agreement with Laban was that jacob would get to keep all the speckled and striped cattle and sheep and Laban would get the others. Scripture says that Laban changed his wages 10 times.
After all this, Jacob is returning home where his brother, as far as he knows, still has a death vendetta against him. The night before meeting Esau, an angel shows up and wrestles with Jacob all night. As the morning broke, Jacob would not turn the angel loose until the angel blessed him.
The angel asked Jacob what his name was. After telling the angel his name, the angel said that he would no longer be called Jacob but Israel, because he had wrestled with God and prevailed.
All that Jacob went through shaped his future in a very positive way. The wounds in our lives shape us and prepare us for all that God has in store for us.
