"Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip." (Genesis 32:31).
My old Christian rap tape rings in my mind: I walked with a limp and carried a brew. You know why? Cause that was cool.
Well, I don't know about that. But Jacob was a man who ended up walking with a limp. For most of his life, he connived and schemed to get his way. He manipulated the people around him to obtain his heart's desires.
But, one day, he met the Lord's angel. They wrestled for hours at the brook. Jacob said, "I won't let you go unless you bless me" (Genesis 32:26). The man blessed Jacob, changing his name to Israel, which means "striven with God." Jacob had wrestled with God, and with men, and prevailed.
Before blessing Jacob, though, the man touched the socket of Jacob's hip, so when he walked away had a limp. He left the wrestling match a new man, Israel, but also with a new limp. The two, it seems, go together.
God wills to do great things in and through us, just as He wanted to do the great thing of developing His own special nation from Jacob's lineage. But, just as He had to give Jacob a limp, He often wants us limping before He uses us. Or so He can use us.
When we think we're strong, we're at our weakest. Weakness is the way. Limping is the Lord's will. Paul, when confronted with his lasting infirmities, said, "I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:9–10)
But this humble path is hard for us to entertain. We think the self-assertive and strong are the champions of the faith. Take a closer look. All through Scripture, the great heroes of the faith had weaknesses. Abraham faltered in leaving his homeland. Peter trusted his own might and played the hypocrite with Barnabas. Moses often tried to hand God his letter of resignation. Others were sick, without giftings, or overcome by fear.
But God looks for people with a limp because its what makes us dependent upon Him. If He made Jacob into Israel without the humiliation of the limp, the man might've walked in pride and self-sufficiency. His history suggests as much. So God made him limp. The door was opened. The blessing of God could come.
