Limping

Concerning Jacob, the Bible tells us: “A man came and wrestled with him until…dawn began to break…He touched Jacob’s hip and wrenched it out of its socket. Then the man said, ‘Let me go, for the dawn is breaking!’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go unless you bless me.’ ‘What is your name?’ the man asked. He replied, ‘Jacob.’ ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob,’ the man told him. ‘From now on you will be called Israel, because you have fought with God and with men and have won.’…Jacob named the place Peniel (which means ‘face of God’), for he said, ‘I have seen God face to face….The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping” (vv. 24-28, 30-31 NLT). Imagine the importance of a hip bone to a farmer like Jacob. It was something he leaned on every day, and now he was weak in an area where he had prided himself on being strong. As a result, he had to depend on God as never before. God has children like Jacob who walk with a limp, and you may be one of them. Maybe you have experienced a painful failure, and because a limp isn’t something you can hide, people notice it. God loves to use flawed people because when they become successful, they aren’t arrogant like others who think they deserve it. They’re a little warmer, a little more willing to reach out and embrace others. They understand that without God they wouldn’t have made it. When you limp spiritually, you have to depend on God more, and that’s not a liability—it’s an asset!