The Gift of Being Made Weak

Genesis 32:22-31

Jacob Wrestles with God

²²The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. ²³He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had. ²⁴And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. ²⁵When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. ²⁶Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” ²⁷And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” ²⁸Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” ²⁹Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. ³⁰So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” ³¹The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

(ESV)

Thought:
One of the most important purposes for God’s wrestling with Jacob was to weaken him. His entire life he has used his own wisdom and cunning to get what he wanted, but now as he approaches his brother fearing for his life, God will not allow him to resort back to his old ways.

He will wrestle with him, discipline him, humble him. He pops his hip socket out that he must approach his brother from a place of weakness. Some of our greatest struggles are in understanding why as children of God, would he want us to be weak.

But yet it is littered throughout the bible, God takes Gideon’s several thousand men of war and reduces them down to 300. Goliath is defeated not by a mighty warrior, or mighty weapon, but a shepherd boy with a sling and a rock. Paul, the mighty apostle of God, is weakened and when he prays for God to take it away he says…

2 Corinthians 12:9

⁹But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

(ESV)

God doesn’t take away the weakness, he allows it to remain. Because whenever we are strong, our sinful nature compels us to rely on our own strength rather than God’s. So he must drive us into weakness, so that we are constantly being driven to him, because we see that we need him.

All of us think we have a solid relationship with God, but all of us fall very far short of realising just how desperately we need him for absolutely everything we do. We take him for granted every day, and so there will never come a day this side of eternity. Where we do not need to be made weak.

So don’t despair in your weakness, in those things that make you feel helpless, they have a divine purpose to free you from the delusion of your own strength and to drive you towards God. Would you spare having strength in your mind, your body, your life, to know that it would mean a deeper relationship with God? Until we reach that place we will always hold something against God. We must realise there is greater blessing in our weaknesses, than will ever come from our strengths.

Reflection:
As I go about my day, I need to recognise the moments where I feel stretched, limited, or unable to carry things in my own strength. Instead of pushing through or hiding those weaknesses, I can let them turn my attention toward God. Today I need to apply this by slowing down when I feel overwhelmed, asking Him for help, and choosing dependence instead of self‑confidence. My weakness doesn’t have to be a setback; it can be the place where I learn to trust Him more deeply and walk with Him more closely.

Prayer:
Father, help me embrace the moments where I feel weak. Teach me to turn to You instead of relying on myself. Let my limitations draw me closer to You, and let Your strength be made perfect in my weakness. Amen.