Genesis 32 Devotional

Blessed with a Limp

“Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed.””Genesis 32:28 (BSB)

Jacob is going home, and Esau is coming to meet him with four hundred men. Jacob divides his camp and sends gifts ahead. He also prays, and his prayer is the humblest thing he has said so far: he is unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness God has shown him (32:10). He asks God to save him, holding him to his promise.

That night, alone, Jacob wrestles with a man until daybreak. The man dislocates Jacob's hip with a touch, but Jacob will not let go without a blessing (32:25-26). He receives a new name, Israel, and he names the place Peniel, because he has seen God face to face and lived (32:28-30). He walks away limping (32:31). The man who had spent his life grasping is finally blessed while clinging to God in weakness. Paul learned the same lesson, that God's power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Your weakness is not a barrier to God's blessing. It is often where he gives it.

To think about: What weakness in your life might be the place where God wants you to cling to him?