Many of us are familiar with Jacob’s wresting match (Genesis 32:24-32). Some say it was with God, some say it was an angel, some say it was a man, but it was an all night struggle and Jacob ends up limping the rest of his life. As morning is breaking, the man/angel/God says to Jacob, “What is your name?” Some have said: Does God not know Jacob’s name? Of course God knows Jacob’s name. But God is going to make Jacob say it. “My name is, ‘Deceiver,’ my name is, ‘Trickster,’” (which is what Jacob means). And God says to him, “That was your name, but not anymore. From this point forward your name will be Israel.” The name “Israel” means “One who strives with God.”

We normally think of people limping to meet God in order to be healed, not limping after meeting with God as a witness of being blessed. Not too many people are interested in Jacob’s limping. But the limp is the testimony of Jacob’s encounter with God; the limp is a reminder of the blessing from God.

Jacob walked with a limp. Paul had a thorn in his flesh. So why do we feel like we have to win the lottery in order to be blessed by God? The limp reminds us of the blessing.

Maybe God is ready to give you a new name. Maybe you’ve been a deceiver, or maybe your name is anger, or bitterness, or selfish, or loneliness. God is ready to give you a new name, one that reflects a new you, a you that has been changed, transformed by God. As Jacob became the man that God calls him to be, he gets a new name. What name would that be for you? Faithful? True? Strong? Powerful? Righteous? As you wrestle with God, new things happen. We may end up walking with a limp, but we also walk with a new perspective, a new way of seeing ourselves; the world; and the way God is working through us to bless others.

Donn