Faith Limps

August 29, 2021

Series: Faith Limps

Topic: Annointing, Faith

Book: Genesis

Genesis 31:3
That’s when God said to Jacob, “Go back home where you were born. I’ll go with you.”

FAITH and VISION

Genesis 31:4-5
So Jacob sent word for Rachel and Leah to meet him out in the field where his flocks were. He said, “I notice that your father has changed toward me; he doesn’t treat me the same as before. But the God of my father hasn’t changed; he’s still with me.

Genesis 31:13
“I know what Laban’s been doing to you. I’m the God of Bethel where you consecrated a pillar and made a vow to me. Now be on your way, get out of this place, go home to your birthplace.’”

Genesis 31:17
Jacob did it.

FAITH and ACTION

A PRAYER OF FAITH AND ACTION – Goyo Hildago
Lord, Help Me
Be PREPARED, But not ANXIOUS.
Be AWARE, But not DESPERATE.
Be VIGILANT, But not in FEAR.
Be JOYFUL, But not CLUELESS.
Be FAITHFUL, But not CARELESS.
LORD, BE MY HOPE AND STRENGTH!

Genesis 32:6
The messengers came back to Jacob and said, “We talked to your brother Esau and he’s on his way to meet you. But he has four hundred men with him.”

FAITH and PRAYER

This is a God who wants to engage.  A God we can throw ourselves against with the full weight of our thoughts, questions, ideas, and feelings.  A God who invites our rigor, our persistence, our intensity, and our strength.  This is a God who doesn’t let go.
–Debbie Thomas

FAITH and WRESTLING
All of the epic battles of our lives — our battles with guilt, shame, fear, doubt, grief, or unforgiveness, our wrestling matches with family, friends, enemies, community, church, or creed — are ultimately battles with and about God.  It is with God, and in relationship to God, and in God’s all-encompassing presence that we fight the fights that bend, break, and remake us. God is always the one who battles with and against us — not for our detriment, but for our transformation.
–Debie Thomas

FAITH and A LIMP

We can limp and prevail at the same time.  We can experience healing in brokenness.  If I want to engage with God, then I must expect that I will be changed in the process — and not always in ways that are painless or comfortable or easy. I can’t dictate the terms of blessing.  I can’t say, “I want the blessing but not the limp.”  Sometimes, the blessing is the limp.
-Debie Thomas

Whatever your limp may be, it is a sign to the world and a story of how you have overcome. While the situation that caused the limp may be negative or undesirable, the resulting limp is positive and a testament to our God.
-Michelle Early

Genesis 33:1-4
Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with his four hundred men. He led the way and, as he approached his brother, bowed seven times, honouring his brother. But Esau ran up and embraced him, held him tight and kissed him. And they both wept.

Discerning Reflection: 
• What do I still need to “wrestle” with God over?
• Do I have doubts that I haven’t sought an answer to?
• What can I do today to make God more real in my life than ever before?