How's that hip?

"So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. 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. Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”
But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there.

So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip." (Genesis 32:24-34)

That is the line God put on my heart these past few days: "he was limping because of his hip."

When I was a student nurse, one of the first things we learned was how to get a hip patient out of bed and into a chair. There is a whole set of steps to take as we pivot and turn the patient. Getting them up on that leg is essential to healing...even though, most hip patients go on to walk with a limp for the rest of their lives.

There are all kinds of complications that can be brought about with a hip patient: blood clots, infection, stroke, bed sores. They are monitored carefully to help prevent any of the above...yet sometimes, even with the best of care, a hip patient never makes the recovery stage.

Just like the hospital patient, the spiritually broken hip leaves us with a limp. But we only get to the point of the privilege limp, if we survive the injury itself.

"Did she just say 'the privilege limp?'"

No. I wrote it, but yes, you read right.

Think about what God told Jacob out in that desert: "...because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

Think some more about the dangers our hip patient faces before getting to the point of a limp. If you are blessed enough to limp, it means you have over come all that could have killed you in the process.

If you have a spiritual broken hip what could kill your spirit?

Pride? "I did nothing wrong! I don't deserve this!"

Fear? "I can't take another step! It will hurt!"

Anger? "This blankety~blank hip!"
Self Pity? "Woe is me. My poor, poor hip." ~For the record: Self pitying child gave permission to use photo!

But what if we responded like Jacob?

"I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.”

Have you been in a season where you had your spiritual hip dislocated? Did you survive? Thank God for the limp. It means something way more to your walk then you may possibly understand. It may even mean you have been face to face with God.

In the next couple of verses, Jacob and his brother meet. Essau and Jacob run towards each other...but take a second and notice that Essau, had no limp....read something into that this morning, won't you?

Be blessed all...