Wrestling with the Mind: Jacob and the Struggle to Believe in the Wish Fulfilled

We often hear the phrase “live from the end” in Neville Goddard’s teachings. But putting this into practice is no small thing. The real battle isn’t with the world—it’s within the mind. The story of Jacob wrestling all night with a mysterious figure—traditionally interpreted as an angel—symbolises this internal conflict. It isn’t a fight with another being; it’s the fight with ourselves, with the deeply ingrained belief that change must happen physically.

The Habit of Outer Action

Jacob’s life had always been a series of calculated actions and clever manoeuvres. From grasping Esau’s heel at birth to his strategic dealings with Laban, he was someone who got things done. Many of us can relate. We’re taught to rely on effort, logic, and planning. When a desire arises, our first instinct is: “What must I do to make this happen?”

But spiritual transformation requires a different kind of effort. It asks us to stop wrestling with the world and instead face the far greater challenge of wrestling with thought.

Persistence, Reimagined

Jacob’s persistence is a defining feature of his story. He serves Laban for years to win Rachel, only to be deceived, and then serves again without giving up. He strategises, bargains, waits, adapts. Persistence was his nature—but it was directed at the outer world. The story of the night-wrestling marks a turning point: that same persistence must now be applied inwardly.

Instead of manipulating circumstances, Jacob is called to hold onto a new state of being. He clings, not to schemes or outcomes, but to the very Presence wrestling within him. “I will not let you go unless you bless me,” he says. This is persistence reimagined—not chasing the desire, but refusing to let go of the assumption that it is already fulfilled.

The Inner Struggle is Real—and Physical

This isn’t just metaphorical. Trying to break free from old patterns of thinking and shift into the feeling of the wish fulfilled often causes real discomfort. The mind resists. The body tenses. We may feel tightness in the chest, a knot in the stomach, or a dull ache behind the eyes. It is quite literally a wrestling match with self—an internal resistance to letting go of the old identity.

Jacob’s hip being put out of joint is no throwaway detail. It mirrors the physical toll that often accompanies inner transformation. Letting go of the familiar, even when it no longer serves us, can feel like dislocation.

The Moment of Surrender

But something remarkable happens when the mind finally yields. When it stops reaching for the how and simply accepts the new state as real—when it fully dwells in the end—the pain lifts. A quiet bliss arises. There’s lightness. Stillness. An unmistakable internal shift.

It’s as if a new self has quietly taken the place of the old, without force. Not through outer movement, but through inner alignment.

This is the blessing Jacob would not let go without receiving. Not a material reward, but a changed name—a new identity. He becomes Israel: the one who has prevailed not with man, but with God—with the creative power within.

Practising the Shift

This state of awareness, once tasted, can be cultivated. It is not a one-time achievement, but a space you return to, deepen in, and allow to govern your perception. This is the real work. Not forcing the outer world into submission, but practising the inner knowing that your desire is already fulfilled.

In that sense, every desire brings with it a new opportunity to wrestle, to surrender, to persist—and to receive the blessing of a transformed self.