Walking With Christ

Genesis 32:31  The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.(ESV)

Jacob wrestled with God and walked away blessed and broken.  Not everyone talks about the limp.  But we all have one.  If you’ve lived long enough, you do too.  This post is about the limp that remains — not as a curse, but as a marker of redemption.  It’s about what happens when God touches the deepest part of your strength…and changes how you walk forever.

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Wrestling with God Leaves a Mark

Jacob’s limp wasn’t a punishment.  It was a reminder.  A sacred scar from a divine encounter that shifted everything — not just his name, but his identity.  Before that night, he was a deceiver.  Afterward, he was Israel — the one who contended with God and lived.  He didn’t get a crown.  He didn’t get applause.  He got a limp.  And yet, that limp told the truth:  “I met God here.  And I didn’t walk away the same.”

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Scars That Speak

The world wants scars erased.  The Church often wants them hidden.  But Jesus kept His.  Even in His resurrected body, He showed the holes in His hands and side.

His scars weren’t weaknesses.  They were witnesses.

So are yours.

• That failed marriage?  That’s a scar.  But it can speak.
• That abuse?  It didn’t define you.  But your healing can.
• That addiction?  You don’t need to hide the story God already covered in grace.
• That night you wish you could undo?  If you’re still here, it means God’s not done with it.

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Why We Limp

We limp because we were touched by truth.  We limp because we stopped running from God and started wrestling with Him.  We limp because we fought for our blessing — and received it.  But the limp isn’t shame.  The limp is the evidence of the encounter.  The proof that you didn’t give up.  The signal to the watching world that your strength doesn’t come from you anymore.

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The Danger of Pretending to Be Whole

Many pretend they’re fine — they walk straight and speak strong and act like pain has no place in their theology.  But the ones who limp?  The ones who don’t hide the bruise or the break?  Those are the ones you can trust with your wounds.  They won’t give you polished advice.  They’ll give you presence.  They’ll sit with you in the mystery.  They’ll remind you that God is still good, even when the healing is incomplete.

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Closing Reflection

Some wounds never fully close in this life.  Some healing is partial — not because God is lacking, but because some pain is meant to keep us leaning.  If you’re walking with a limp today, don’t despise it.  Don’t curse the moment you were wounded.  Let it remind you of the night you wrestled, the God who stayed, and the new name you were given.  You may not walk like you used to.  But you are walking.  And that alone is a testimony.  You’re still moving forward.  And that limp?  That’s where the glory leaks through.