The AMI QT Devotionals from December 25-31 are written by Phillip Chen, college pastor at Church of Southland. Philip, a graduate of University of California, San Diego, is currently studying at Talbot School of Theology. He is married to Esther.
Devotional Thoughts for Today
“Scars of Remembrance”
Genesis 32:30-32 (ESV)
So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Peniel, limping because of his hip. 32 Therefore to this day the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip on the sinew of the thigh.
When I tore my ACL in college, it wasn’t a quick and sudden tear—rather, it was a slow and partial tear each time. Every time I went to the doctor, he would say that it was just a sprained knee, and that I would need to rest it before resuming athletic activity. I ended up partially tearing it quite a few times—in football, in basketball, and even one time at one of those trampoline parks. I finally spoke to a doctor who told me to get surgery, and I did. To this day, the scar and the slight numbing sensation around my knee is a reminder of all of the painful moments of the tears and the post-surgery rehab. As I was chatting with a college student recently about how I don’t really play sports that much anymore—even though I am medically cleared to do so—we concluded that it was kind of like PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), where I am too scared to get hurt again because of the painful memories of getting hurt.
In today’s passage, we see that Jacob (Israel) is left with a limp because the angel of the Lord touched his hip socket and was put out of joint. We don’t know if this is a permanent limp, but this event must have been a very memorable one, for the people of Israel refuse to eat the sinew of the thigh on the hip socket because of this story (v.32). But why is there such an emphasis on this limp, and what is the significance of this?
When I think of the scar on my knee, it brings back painful memories of what happened, and regardless of how hard I try to forget it, I can’t because it is a part of me. Perhaps Jacob’s limp was meant to serve a similar purpose—bringing back memories for Jacob of the specific moment God blesses him. In this moment, Jacob has been stripped of everything that he has sought to use as a covering, and in this vulnerable place, he wrestles with God. Perhaps God purposely caused this limp so that he would forever remember this encounter with God.
As we carry physical scars, we also carry emotional and spiritual scars. Scars are not always a negative thing, because they often signify healing. Scars form after wounds have been healed. Are we aware of the ways our scars remind us of important moments in our lives? How fitting that today is the last day of the year— it is a time of reflection, and what better way than to look back on the different scars and marks we carry from our encounters with God. What has God done this past year in your life? What are ways that He left scars upon you because you needed to be healed of things? Let’s not only look forward with vision and expectation, but to do so with the reminder that we have each encountered God in powerful ways; and the scars that we carry are marks that stay with us for the purpose of reminders.
Prayer: Father God, thank You for the scars of remembrance in my life. Thank You for the reminder that You are present in my life and the ways You have healed me. As I start out this new year, I pray that the orientation and direction of this year would be dictated upon the ways You have touched me this past year. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Bible Reading for Today: 1 Corinthians 15-16
Often times, we read this passage and we focus on Jacob’s tenacity and his unwillingness to let go of God until He has blessed him. We talk about how this applies to us and our approach in prayer, boldly and confidently wrestling with God until He has answered us. We talk about the perseverance, the grit, and the tenacity that Jacob had which we should emulate. Yes, we can learn a lot from Jacob and his desire to be blessed, but this morning, I’d like to focus on God’s willingness to wrestle with us.
Over the course of two decades, Jacob accumulated much wealth, power, and status: innumerable livestock, a large family and many servants. When he was fleeing from Esau’s presence, he left only with the clothes on his back; but now, in his return to meeting Esau, he is a wealthy man. In case Esau came as an enemy, Jacob’s plan is to split up the camp into different groups, so that if one group was attacked, the others have a chance to get away. He sends these groups out to meet his brother in different waves. And then finally, he is left all by himself in the camp. Tactically, this seems like a great idea—a very strategic and well thought move. However, I wonder if God intentionally planted this idea in Jacob’s mind so that he would be all alone that night, because we read in the subsequent verses of Jacob’s wrestling match with God.
In today’s passage, we see that Jacob is preparing for his encounter with Esau. Years have passed since their last meeting, and they are entirely different people at this point; but when Jacob hears that Esau is coming with four hundred men, immediately he assumes the worst. I can’t blame Jacob for feeling that way – after all, the last time Jacob had seen Esau, he had stolen his birthright and blessing from Isaac. So Isaac begins to make preparations, in case Esau is coming to attack him. Jacob then prays to God and asks for His protection. Regardless of the fact that God had promised him the same descendants as Abraham, he is insecure about the fact that Esau is about to come and wipe him and his family out. Jacob is a total mess, and I’m sure we would be too if we were in his place.
Our church is notorious for having a lot of leftover snacks—from the leftover snacks of different retreats to the snacks that each of our ministries buy for future events, there is always food lying around somewhere. And what I’ve learned is to make sure to label everything, if I am saving it for something—otherwise, it will most definitely get eaten. Sometimes, even the snacks that are labeled get taken! So recently, I’ve started labeling our snacks with our ministry name, and then adding the line: “Please do not take, God is watching you.” Hopefully, this will deter whoever has been taking my snacks. I might not be there to protect these snacks from being stolen, but God is watching. The funny thing is, more often than not, this is a great deterrent.
In Quantico, a TV show that I recently started watching, the setting of the story is at The Farm—a covert training facility for the CIA, where the CIA operative recruits are trained to deceive others and develop alternative personalities for their missions. It’s insane to think that there are people who can be so skilled at deception, to the point where you could not tell their true story from their cover story. Though you and I may not be professional liars, it’s probably fair to say that we’ve told our share of white lies.
When I was a kid, I would throw temper tantrums if I felt like I was being mistreated. Once, some family friends were over and we were playing video games. It was my turn to play, but my friend would not give up the controller. Feeling slighted, I could not let this injustice to continue unaddressed. So I ended up wrestling with him and eventually biting him because he wouldn’t let go of the controller. Today, I am proud to say I handle any injustice committed against me in a much milder manner.
Good morning! Since it is Christmas Eve, I thought I’d break from our Genesis study to give us a little Christmas devotional. But a little warning—this might seem like a series of random thoughts, but it’ll come together in the end.
Christmas, which is, of course, the day we celebrate the incarnation of our Lord and Savior, is only two days away. For most families, this is a time to enjoy one another, and for most children, it’s a day when many wishes become reality. In our household—at least for one four-year-old— Christmas is going to be a day of reckoning, and perhaps utter disappointment. You see, about six months ago, whenever we’d go out on errands to places like Target, my youngest son Jon would find junk that interested him and would ask us to buy it for him. Now a good parent would simply say no, and deal with the ensuing tantrum until the child has learned not to react so childishly. However, my wife and I aren’t always good parents, so instead of just saying no, we’ve developed the habit of saying, “Maybe we’ll get that for your birthday or Christmas.” After a few times, Jon’s picked up on this and just asks at stores, “Can we get this for my next birthday or Christmas?”
I live in a town where high school sports are pretty huge; and as a trickle down effect, youth sports seem to be more important than they should be. So in my son’s and daughter’s 1st and 2nd grade teams, we have our fair share of crazy dads (as well as some coaches) who takes their children’s games a little too seriously. As I’ve gotten a chance to know a few of these overly enthusiastic parents, a fairly common back story has emerged: for many of these parents, high school sports were a highlight of their life. I don’t mean to make these people sound sad—this is generally not the case—but I do think that they would like to relive the “glory days” through their children’s accomplishments on the athletic field.