Lessons from a Limp
It wasn’t too long ago when I was able to run and play sports with an almost reckless abandon. And then I got my first sports injury. Although I eventually recovered, it changed me. I had to walk with a very noticeable limp for several weeks. Not only was it inconvenient, it was also embarrassing! I had to endure the questions of why and how it happened. It hurt my pride that I had to sit out and watch others play while I had to wait and recover. It was frustrating...but necessary.
I had to be reminded that I was human. I wasn’t impervious to pain or the frustrations of life. I also learned how to empathize with those who suffered similar injuries. I knew the pain that they experienced. I could counsel them on how to treat the injury. I could encourage them when they felt like they were set back and discouraged. I could tell them that they would recover just like me.
I would have never learned those things, if not for my injury. Every limp was a lesson.
I can imagine Jacob, renamed Israel, limping after his wrestling match with God (Genesis 32:25). His hip had been popped out of place, and God did not put it back. He limped on his way to meet his brother, Esau, who had hostile intentions for him. Yet, when he saw Jacob in the sorry state that he was in, they were reconciled.
I’m sure he expected to see his younger brother, proud, head held up high, expecting to be treated well because of the birthright that he had stolen. But he saw none of the pride and arrogance. It was the humility that Jacob displayed that won his brother over.
Perhaps, we all can learn a lesson from Jacob’s limp. Every step forward, although marked with pain and discomfort, is a reminder that we need to lean not on our own strength, but on God. Every step is made in faith and hope in the sustaining promises of His Word.
When we do that, we display a different kind of spirit: one of humility rather than arrogance.
Humility is the antidote to hypocrisy.
Humility leads to empathy.
Humility reminds us of our humanity and our need for the grace of God.
Will our limp lead people to that same grace?
