September 27th, 2026
Scripture – “So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.”
Genesis 32:24, 31 NIV
Observation – The two verses above are short passages about Jacob wrestling with God the night before he meets his brother Esau. Twenty years have passed since Jacob stole Esau’s birthright and fled to Paddan Aram to escape his brother’s vengeance. Jacob left with nothing and now has two wives, twelve children and great wealth.
Application – The following is from Tony Evans Bible Commentary. “This suggests that any man God blesses will possess a limp. God will create something in that person’s life that makes him despair of his own strength and lean on the Lord’s instead. Jacob’s limp, in fact, was so significant to his blessing that when the author of Hebrews mentioned Jacob’s demonstration of faith, he mentioned Jacob’s walking “staff” (see Heb 11:21). It’s as if out of all the colorful scenes in Jacob’s life, the writer of Hebrews wanted to say, “In the end, Jacob was a man who was forced to lean on God.” The question for you today is, “Has God’s intervention in your life caused you to lean on him or shun him?”
Prayer – Lord God, we are all sinners that view our lives from our own narrow perspectives. In order for us to be become the people you designed us to be we must wrestle with you and be disciplined by you in order to learn what you need us to learn so we can live for you and be blessing to those around us. Thank you for caring enough about us that you wrestle with us. Amen.
