Tuesdays with Jacob

Read Genesis 32:30-32 – So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”  Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him, and he limped on his hip. Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank, which is on the hip socket, because He touched the socket of Jacob’s hip in the muscle that shrank. (NKJV)

Jacob’s limp isn’t a scar in the traditional sense, but he would carry a reminder of his moment with God for the rest of his life. In fact, the memory would be so profound that it would forever affect Jacob’s descendants. What memories of God’s presence do you carry with you each day? Sure, we may have some remarkable memories of victories or moments worth celebrating. However, we usually remember difficult moments more easily. Often it’s the setbacks and the lessons learned in those moments that linger in our memories. Has God taught you a few difficult lessons? Perhaps our efforts to pass along those memories might keep our children and grandchildren from needing to learn such truths the hard way. We may be quick to share the best stories with our children, but the lessons learned in difficult times are worth telling as well. First, they provide the whole story of God’s working in our lives, and they can protect those who hear them from the necessary pain of experience. Let others know what God has taught you—that’s the very definition of making disciples.

– Dr. Mike Clarensau serves as Senior Director of the Healthy Church Network of the Assemblies of God.