Walking with a Cane

“Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day…He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob’s hip was out of joint…So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: ‘For I have seen God face to face, and my life was preserved’…and he limped on his hip.” Genesis 32:24-31

I have always thought that this was one of the most bizarre stories in the Bible. We are not told why the two were wrestling but we do know that the Man was a messenger from God with the authority and power to engage with Jacob’s petition. Being from God this Man could have taken Jacob’s life in a second, but instead they rolled around on the ground for who knows how long. All we are told is that ‘the struggle was real’ and it went into the early morning. Near the end of the encounter the Man touched Jacob’s hip giving him a permanent injury. Once his encounter with God was over, Jacob would never be the same and he had the limp to prove it.

While the story may be shrouded in mystery the message is clear. God will allow us to wrestle with Him over things we desire to happen in our lives. God will even allow us to prevail in certain struggles but the cost will remind us that God is in complete control of every aspect of our lives. ‘Jacob had learned that God, not his own cunning resourcefulness, was the source of his blessings and well-being.’ The Study Bible for Women, p. 45. From that point on, Jacob perceived his life through the view of a heavenly home. His limp had become his testimony, and all desires aligned with his future with God. There had been promises that God had made, some fulfilled on earth and some would be fulfilled in the heavenly country. ‘These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them…But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country’ Hebrews 11:13-16.

There have been plenty of times when my attitude with God was ‘out of joint.’ The things I prayed for were things of this world…status…image…material things. There have been wrestling matches with God when I asked Him to promise me things. Some of these items were not good for me, and some He allowed me to prevail by granting them to me. But time and time again, the message always ended up the same in the end. “Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21. Every day holds another encounter with God with different sides of the prism to behold. God is faithful and the plans He has for us are better than anything we could ever have for ourselves. Whether we receive His promises now on earth or later in our ‘heaven country,’ may our lives be marked by our encounters with God, fully embracing them and confidently assured by them.