I Am Still Walking

Well, here we are in 2021. Can you believe that we made it through the challenging year that was 2020? We have experienced hardships and endured battles we never knew we would have to fight and had to keep going everyday despite it all. When I look back on this year, it feels like a wrestling match. The wrestling match of changing the way that we did church, changing the way we celebrated holidays, changing the way that we valued family and time at home, grieving the loss of loved ones, and the list can go on and on. But even in the chaos and hardship of 2020, here we are, STILL WALKING.

In Genesis 32, we see the story of Jacob in a wrestling match with God. They wrestle all night long, and at the end of it, Jacob will not let God go until he blesses him. And God does just that, but he doesn’t leave him the same person as when he walked into the fight. He leaves him with a limp. And this limp doesn’t go away in a few days, or even a few years, but it stays with him his whole life. We know this because of a verse in Hebrews 11:21 that indicates that he still needed his walking staff for support. It says,

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

Here was Jacob at the end of his life, still blessing others, still worshipping, but yet still leaning on his staff. Although his limp stayed with him, his worship never left him. If you want to keep walking, you have to keep worshipping. There have been so many seasons of my life when I was walking with a limp. The limp of cancer, the limp of the loss of my father, the limp of building a Church over 20 years, the limp of heartache, the limp of parenting; but one thing has kept me walking. Worship has kept me walking.

Worship isn’t just a 30-minute set in a church service. Worship is your walk. Worship is thanking God for who He is even in your greatest trial. Worship is putting God first in every moment of your day. Worship is pouring out your heart to God so that He can come and fill you up again. Worship changes the way that you interact with your spouse, your kids, and your coworkers. Worship is having a limp and continuing to trust God as you keep walking.

Just like Jacob, you have to know that your limp is not your limitation, but that it is often your greatest tool. With 2020 in our wake, let’s keep walking. No matter what this year brings us, no matter what you stay up all night wrestling with, no matter what limp stays with you, let’s keep worshipping as we keep walking.