I recently was pointed to an article by Desiring God which encourages the believer to wrestle with God like Jacob wrestled with God at Peniel/Mahanaim (Gen 32:1-32). The implication of the article is that Jacob’s wrestling match with God is a pattern for us to follow—we too ought to wrestle with God! I have written before about the bad habit of reading Bible stories inappropriately, but this is a good example of this bad practice. Like many well-intentioned Bible readers, the author assumes that the actions of the characters in the story are to be emulated and the events of the story should form our expectations of how God operates with us. For example, the author notes the following: God will meet you in your anguish, fear, and uncertainty. But he may not meet you in the way you expect or desire. Your greatest ally may show up looking at…