Read Genesis 32:22-32

Have you ever been touched by God?  I was recently in a bizarre car accident that could’ve killed me. But God protected me. The accident resulted in two hip replacements and my kneecap that was broken in 8 places. I find it difficult to actually know if God touched me or if this is just something that happened by chance (see Ecclesiastes 9:11).

I do not think it was chance. I can’t prove it. But I have recovered from all of that and have been blessed by God.

Your two hips are pretty durable. You probably know somebody who has arthritis of the hip. They can’t walk very well and they limp. They need a walker or a cane or a wheelchair to get around and can’t run around. Arthritis is one of the most common causes of pain in the hip today.

Jacob was a man who probably did not have arthritis. But he was touched by God. But not in a way that we may think that God touches someone. Jacob was touched and he never walked the same again. He limped but he also thrived. To thrive today means to lose yourself and follow the upside down kingdom of Jesus Christ. You have the opportunity to thrive every day by following Jesus Christ, despite pain such as arthritis and other events that can knock you down.

Jacob was a man who wrestled with God, who took the form of an angel. Jacob must have been a strong wrestler because this angel could not overpower him. So, God, in the form of an angel, disabled his hip.

Perhaps the angel was able to defeat Jacob, but his goal was not to defeat him but to bless him.

Have you been blessed in a similar way?

We wrestle against the desires of the flesh, against sin and the influences of the world, so this passage of scripture (v 22-32) is something that we can all relate to. God wrestled with Jacob in order to transform him, to bring him to a place of submission so that Jacob could no longer run from his problems.

What challenges are you walking through currently? Do you believe that God can use it for His glory? Maybe when you get knocked down – that is an opportunity that God has given you to thrive and change perspective. You get knocked down. Get up. You’re still standing! (Psalm 40:2).

Tom Weckesser