The other day, I went to see my psychiatrist. I said, "Doc, I'm feeling kind of schizophrenic."

He said, "Well, that makes four of us."

That little line comes from one of my favorite Bill Murray movies. It's called "What About Bob?" Bob, of course, is a loveable but completely neurotic guy who takes a liking to a psychiatrist played by Richard Dreyfuss. It’s a hilarious movie in which - as crazy as Bob is - you not only come to love him, but you begin to identify with him, as well!

This morning, I want to introduce you to the Bible's version of Bob. I think you'll come to love and identify with him, too. His name is Jacob. If you look in the dictionary under the word neurotic, his picture is there. If you look under the term dysfunctional, you'll see his family portrait. He is the son of Isaac and Rebekah. And he is Esau's younger brother.

Now you know how younger brothers are. And younger sisters, too. Why, my younger brother Steve spent a good part of his life growing up trying to unseat me from my position as the older brother. He wasn't content to play with his toys. Had to play with my toys. Wasn't content to go to bed at his bedtime. Had to go at my bedtime. Didn't want to hang around with his friends. Wanted to be with my friends. Didn't want to eat his sandwich. Wanted to eat my sandwich. Steve spent a lot of his growing up years struggling with this inner need to compete with me, his older brother.

But with Jacob it was even worse. He and his brother Esau, you see, were twins, born just seconds apart. And even before birth - there in the womb of their mother Rebekah - the two boys struggled with each other. Esau maneuvered into position to be the first one out. Jacob tried unsuccessfully to push him out of the way. And in that incredible moment when birth was about to occur, Jacob took drastic action.

Maybe to pull him back. Maybe to go for a tie. But despite Jacob's best efforts, he lost the race to his brother. And so Esau became the firstborn - albeit by just a few seconds. And as the firstborn son of Isaac, Esau received the right to inherit everything his father owned. The younger brother got nothing. Except for a special name. A special joke-name. They called him Jacob, which means heel holder. And how the relatives laughed when they heard it! And over the years, people would howl hysterically whenever they heard the hilarious story of how Jacob got his name by clinging to the heel of his brother. But Jacob didn't laugh. He hated his name. He hated the life he had. He hated being laughed at. He hated living in the shadow of his big brother. He hated it all! And for the rest of his life, Jacob struggled with the resentment.

Now, psychologists tell us that these kinds of early childhood injuries can lead to all sorts of pathological attitudes and behaviors. And that's what happened to Jacob. He became a liar. A cheat. A manipulator. One day, he stole his brother's birthright by hoodwinking their blind father into re-writing his will, making Jacob the sole beneficiary. And as always happens when you cheat someone out of what is rightfully theirs, they come after you. Esau determined to get revenge by killing his brother. So Jacob opened up a Swiss bank account and got out of the country as fast as he could.

And you know what happens next. Jacob locates an uncle in another country. His name is Laban, and he turns out to be an even bigger cheat than Jacob! Funny how these behaviors often run through whole families. Laban offers Jacob the hand of his beautiful daughter Rachel if he'll only work for him for seven years. So Jacob does. But when the seven years are up, the uncle deceives Jacob, slipping into his wedding tent his homely daughter Leah instead. Then Laban tells Jacob he'll make it up to him. Jacob can have Rachel if he'll work another seven years. And Jacob - like a love-sick adolescent - agrees. And after the seven years are over, Jacob finally gets Rachel. But Rachel and Leah fight like cats and dogs over which is the better wife. Leah spits out babies like a machine gun. Rachel can't get pregnant. So she sends her maid in to Jacob. She gets pregnant. Then Leah sends her maid into Jacob. It's like As The World Turns! And Jacob, of course, would tell them all to cut it out if only he could wipe the grin from his face! All the while, Jacob puts in another seven years working for Laban. But it's not out of love and respect for his low-life father-in-law. Jacob works the additional seven years because it takes him just about that long to figure out how to steal Laban's cattle right out from under his nose. And he does! And when Laban finds out, he goes ballistic. He is not a happy relative. Laban sets out to kill Jacob.

Do you get the picture? It is one big mixed-up life. And just when it appears it can't get any worse than it already is, who comes along to further complicate things? God! And the Lord whispers to Jacob, "Go home - to your own country."

Do you see what a pickle he's in! For there is Jacob, running off into the desert trying to get away from Laban who wants to kill him. And all the while, he's running toward his brother Esau who also wants to kill him. And finally, the day comes when Jacob and his whole mixed-up family and all their stolen goods make it to the very edge of his home territory. And a report comes in. Esau is on his way to intercept them. With four hundred soldiers.

And you know what happens. In the face of crisis, Jacob sends the cattle and all the people who work for him on ahead. He figures Esau will kill them first, and, once the carnage is over, maybe decide it's enough. But just in case Esau doesn't stop there, Jacob comes up with a backup plan. He sends on his wives, and their maids, and all of his children. They will be human shields for him. Their sacrifice will buy him the time he needs to get away. Nice guy, huh?

And once they are gone, the sun goes down. Night falls. And Jacob is alone in the desert. And something really strange happens!

A mysterious stranger comes hurtling out of the night. With a violent drop kick, he knocks Jacob to the ground. Jacob gets up and dusts himself off, but his opponent is too fast. He throws himself - like a human battering ram - into Jacob's solar plexus - knocking him over again. The two men roll in the dust. Over and over they roll!There are leg holds, head locks, full-nelsons, half-nelsons, all the moves that make professional wrestling one of America's favorite pastimes. And Jacob finds himself in the wrestling match of his life! It goes on all night long. And Jacob holds his own against the unknown stranger.

But when dawn breaks, the mysterious wrestler reaches out and simply touches Jacob's hip. And Jacob falls to the ground. The stranger says, "I gotta go. I got a universe to run. But from now on, your name will no longer be "heel-holder". Your new name is "Israel" which means - "he wrestles with God."

Now we've come all this way this morning just to make a simple point or two. Like Jacob, there are many things we struggle with. Health problems. Family relationships. The loss of loved ones. An addiction to alcohol or drugs. Problems that keep us awake at night. And not only as individuals, but also as members of society. Oh, don't we struggle to try to understand and respond to things like the terrible violence this week in Atlanta? And to the incessant presence of racism in our society? Like Jacob, you and I struggle with many, many things.

But there in the darkness at Peniel, God shows us something important.

All his life, Jacob thought his struggle was against his many obvious problems. But when the bell finally rang on the ultimate wrestling match of his life, it turned out Jacob was not really wrestling with any of those things at all. Not with his birth order. Not with his brother. Not with his uncle. Not with his stupid mistakes.

Jacob's true struggle was with none other than GOD!

I wonder if you have ever considered that underneath the struggles you are facing these days, there is a deeper battle going on. That the outer conflicts you are experiencing right now may actually mirror a deeper kind of fight. A wrestling match between you and God.

The other night, I watched a documentary on The History Channel. It was about Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement. Listening to Dr. King's speeches stirred my soul, and watching film clips of black sanitation workers wearing placards that proclaimed I Am A MAN! brought tears to my eyes. How can such an evil thing exist in America? Why does it persist today?

And thinking of the story of Jacob, it struck me that racism is more than just a social issue. More than economics. More than not enough legislation. Racism, at its heart, is a spiritual issue. It is an inner disrespect for the Creator himself. It is a complete invalidation of and refusal to accept the Creator's love for all his creatures! And it is only when you and I are willing to let God wrestle with our values and attitudes toward people who are different - only when we let God expose our inner propensity toward exclusion and hatred of others that we can ever move on toward healing, beginning with ourselves.

The same is true in our relationships. The resentment we harbor toward a family member or former friend is not so much about what happened between us in the past. It is really about what is happening between us and God, right now! You see, unforgiveness is not so much about the injury inflicted by another as it is about our refusal to give to the offender a gift we ourselves have received from God. It is about our own rebellion against the redeeming love of God. And only when you bring it to God and let God wrestle with you over it can you move to the place where forgiveness becomes possible and you can be set free from your hurt.

Oh, underneath the struggles you are facing these days, there is a deeper battle going on. The outer conflicts you are experiencing right now actually may mirror a deeper kind of fight. A wrestling match between you and God.

But if you are willing to climb into the ring and engage it, God can transform your life. For when the night was over, and the struggle was finished, Jacob became a new man. That old demeaning name that tormented his life and that represented so many awful things was gone. No longer was he the heel holder. Now, he was the one who wrestles with God. And for the first time in his life, Israel had the courage to go and make it right with his brother.

What difficult circumstances are you facing today?

Bring them with you into God's ring. And imagine a tuxedoed Michael Buffer himself climbing through the ropes and taking the microphone, and loudly declaring, "Let's get ready to rummble!!"

For God is ready…to wrestle…with you!