Limping Or Leaning

Limping Or Leaning Genesis 32:22-31 What's your breaking point? That point in which you simply feel like you can't continue unless something changes. It's different for all of us, isn't it? Take a roller coaster for example. Some people are terrified of rollercoasters. But you might be thinking, "Well, I can handle a rollercoaster, just as long as it doesn't go upside down." With that one, I'd have to agree with you! But what about when life seems like a rollercoaster and everything you know goes upside down? When the day-to-day grind becomes overwhelming, and you feel like you're about to go upside down. When you're strapped in tirelessly working endless hours at a job that has no potential for advancement, and life seems to either keep speeding up or slowing down on the tracks. When you or a loved one is sick and can't find relief, and it feels like life has stalled, keeping you stuck in your seat with the bars pushing against you and you feel just stuck. Or when a decision must be made about your future, and you still don't have the foggiest idea where to begin, but you're standing in line facing the rollercoaster with your turn quickly approaching, and a decision must be made. Here we are towards the end of 2020 and in the middle of another school year, and some of you might say your breaking point is having to take one more test. With many people stuck at home because of COVID and your breaking point might be staying cooped up one more day. In a world filled with a seemingly endless supply of distractions, you may be headed towards a breaking point but not really sure why. You feel a void, like something is missing. You keep looking for some type of blessing, and the longer you go without, the more you begin to break. You know, heading towards a breaking point, even if you're not currently aware of why, is stressful. Did you know that over 20% of Americans suffer from anxiety? It's the most common mental illness affecting forty million Americans every year. And that's only the people who have sought medical treatment. If we calculated the people who don't seek or can't afford medical aid, well, that number would skyrocket. Here we are, Americans who live in a country with the most freedom and the greatest opportunity to pursue our dreams, yet one-fifth of us suffer from anxiety. The funny thing about breaking points is they can be gradual or come on all of a sudden. And no matter how you approach a breaking point, one of two things will happen. Either they'll overcome us, or we'll overcome them. Your breaking point will either make you walk away limping because you've been overcome, or you'll walk away leaning because you found the strength to overcome. We all find ourselves battling and wrestling with different breaking points. Many people find the strength to overcome, but only temporarily. They may turn to worldly things such as smoking, drugs, alcohol, gambling, relationships, or sports. In the Bible, Jacob turned to trickery, work, women, money, possessions, and travel. Jacob's name means "following on another's heel." He was a schemer, a trickster. He tricked his father, Isaac, into giving him his older brother's birthright. Later, Jacob also tricked his uncle Laban. Jacob was tired of being in second place. He was tired of being pushed aside and taken advantage of. He was tired of following on another's heel. Does that describe some of you? Tired of being seen and not heard or heard and not seen. Tired of being taken advantage of or overlooked. Tired of trying to follow the roadmap of life without any signs guiding your way. If that describes you, you and Jacob had a lot in common. You see, earlier in the book of Genesis, Jacob stole Esau's birthright and received the blessing meant for his brother. This blessing meant a lot. A blessing gave security, a superior rank in the family, a priestly office, and a double portion of all the paternal inheritance. Jacob would give anything to have those things, so he tricked his own family. But as soon as his brother found out, he became horribly angry, and in fear, Jacob ran away. During Jacob's travels, the guilt and shame of what he had done began to set it. He couldn't travel far enough to escape his conscience. He couldn't outrun his guilt. So what did Jacob do? He went after love and worked for over a decade to marry the love of his life, Rachel. He traveled, worked, earned money, and acquired lots of possessions. But these were all temporary fixes. They were all "Flex Seal in a can" patches to what was really draining the life out of Jacob. Jacob needed a permanent fix. And in today's Scripture, Jacob reached his breaking point. He sent everyone on ahead of him, along with all his stuff, leaving Jacob alone and away from people, possessions, and distractions. Then what happened? Verse 24 says, "So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak." Jacob and this man wrestled all night! And "When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched" (v. 25). Now, if we just stop the story here, this story has a bad ending. But there are many people in the world who, when they hit their breaking point, stop when they feel pain. Instead of continuing the story and fighting to overcome, they abruptly end the story and limp away, defeated and discouraged. It's here, at this moment, where a person's true character begins to reveal itself. Sometimes it takes an all-night wrestling match to knock out your true character. Think of all the brave men and women who enlist in the military to serve our country. They go through basic training, but there's nothing basic about it. They go through things they've never experienced before. The drill instructors make sure of this because it's only after you reach your breaking point that you begin to let go of yourself and your old habits and learn to grow in a new direction. As the all-night fight continued, "the man said, 'Let me go, for it is daybreak.' But Jacob replied, 'I will not let you go unless you bless me'" (v. 26). Life doesn't give an endless supply of opportunities, and when Jacob wrestled with this man, he knew that this was the opportunity he had been looking for. As Billy Graham once said, "A muscle becomes weak if it is not used. To become strong, a muscle must push against something." Even though Jacob's hip was wretched, he kept pushing and wrestling. Jacob knew that tomorrow's history was being written today, and today won't come around again. When you keep pushing against something, it's your determination that helps build strength. Determination has a way of turning heads. People can tell when you're focused and determined. That's why the man asked Jacob, "What is your name" (v. 27). Now, remember, Jacob's name doesn't have the best meaning associated with it. But names mean a lot. Your name means a lot. People know you by your name, and when people hear your name, they immediately think of who you are. Names have a way of defining us, and it's hard to shake one's history from their name. Maybe your breaking point is associated with your name? Perhaps you're trying to escape who you once were? Whatever your breaking point may be or whatever it may be called, the Bible gives us not a temporary solution but a permanent cure. The cure is found in verse 28, which says, "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.'" Remember, Jacob was scared of his brother because his brother threatened to kill Jacob for stealing his blessing, and this wrestling match happened the night before Jacob was to be reunited with his brother Esau. He was scared, alone, broken, and right where God needed him to be. Something cannot be fixed until it's broke. A healthy person doesn't look for a doctor, but a sick person seeks a cure. Jacob's cure was God, and his new name fixed his past. Jacob's new name became Israel, which means "Struggles with God." In other words, God is saying, "You won't work as a schemer or a trickster anymore because now you're identified as one who wrestled with God." Like Jacob, you want to overcome. And the only way for you to overcome the world is to have your life defined in Christ. But when Jacob kept asking for the man's name, the man sort of scoffed and replied in verse 29, "Why do you ask my name?" The man blessed Jacob, now named Israel, because he had just struggled with God. The name was in the struggle. So no matter what struggle you're facing, God is your answer. God is your strength. God will help you overcome. Our ultimate struggle is with sin, and Jesus Christ is ready to bless you with salvation when you place saving faith in Him! Jacob couldn't rely upon his own strength or trickery anymore. He didn't just desire any old blessing; he longed for something far more greater, God's blessing. Jacob was broken and camped out by the waters of Jabbok, which means "Emptying." And it's there that he emptied himself out, only to be filled with the blessing of God. "So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, 'It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared'" (v. 30). If you're at a breaking point, trying to temporarily fix something with your own strength, it'll never last. All you'll do is end up limping. Thankfully, God offers a permanent solution to our problem, Himself. Jesus Christ offers you new life and a new position as a child of God. I know you've struggled with the world; I have to. Our ultimate struggle is not just with the world, people, places, or things, it's also with God. Folks, it's ok for you to admit that you have struggled with God. And as much as you wrestle with God, God wrestles back with you. The Bible says God "doesn't want anyone to perish, but wants everyone to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). When we go to the grocery store, we buy items that are sealed. But to use those items, the seal must be broken. For God to use us, we must come to our breaking point, so we lean on God and not ourselves. So we can be poured out and used for His Kingdom purposes and not our own. To rely upon God's truth and not our own cunning. So whatever has been breaking you, call out to God because the blessing you've been seeking is found in the grace of Jesus Christ. Coming to God means you rely upon God's strength because you know you're weak. Reaffirm your faith in Christ because faith means not giving up or caving in when things get difficult. God gives you a limp so that you can lean upon your Savior. Leaning on God, not ourselves, our money, nor our possessions, makes us strong. And if we never limp, we'll never lean. Heavenly Father, thank you for the limp, because the more we limp, the more we lean upon You. AMEN 2