Genesis 32

Jacob was about to face Esau. He’d sent his family across the river. He was alone. And a man came and wrestled with him until daybreak.

Jacob wouldn’t let go. The man touched his hip and dislocated it and Jacob still held on. I will not let you go unless you bless me.

The man asked: what is your name? Jacob. And then: your name will no longer be Jacob. It will be Israel. Because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.

Jacob had been wrestling his whole life. With Esau in the womb. With Isaac over the blessing. With Laban over flocks. And now, finally, with God. And the limp he walked away with was permanent.

There’s something about the encounter with God that marks you. The blessing Jacob received came with a wound. He limped for the rest of his life. And every time he felt the limp, he knew where it came from.

The deepest blessings sometimes come with a mark. Something that reminds you where you’ve been and who you’ve wrestled with.