Jacob's Limp

Jacob’s Limp

In Genesis 32 we hear the short story of Jacob’s struggle with God. I have always heard he wrestled with an angel but the Bible says, “because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” Either way, Jacob was beside the river Jabbok alone. The bible doesn’t give much detail, we know that Jacob was fearful of his brother Esau, and we know that Jacob was always in a “struggle” of some sort. Genesis 32: 24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. 26 Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” There is not much detail, like, why would this “man” suddenly appear and start wrestling with Jacob? If he were God or an angel, how did Jacob sustain through the whole night? God can do anything so obviously, God let Jacob endure to make a point. When He asked Jacob to let him go, Jacob refused, until He would bless Jacob. “28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,[a] because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” So, Jacob got his blessing, but he would limp the rest of his life as a reminder of when he wrestled with God.

Have you wrestled with God? I have. Not like Jacob. Not physically, but I have spent nights pleading with God for certain outcomes. I have prayed and cried out to God asking for healing for others and myself. Sometimes God blessed those prayers and other times, He had another plan. Like Jacob, God has used different things in my life to keep me close to Him, to keep my seeking His face, and depending on Him. The older I get, the more I realize, this is where I want to be, close to Him.

Gracious Father, we are not always the people you wish us to be. Jacob was in turmoil at times and so can we be. Thank you for keeping us close to you, even if that requires a physical “limp” to remind us how vital it is for us to stay close to you. Amen

Shirlene Peterson