Two-Minute Manna

In this psalm of remembrance that David has the entire nation sing, he says, “I am ready to halt,” or literally, “I’m about to fall.”

I think of two stories . . .

One day, Jesus went to the pool of Bethesda where a man was lying. “Rise, take up your bed, and walk,” Jesus said to him. And immediately that man stood, took up his bed, and walked. But when the religious leaders asked him who it was that healed him, the man couldn’t tell them. He was evidently so thrilled to be healed that he didn’t have time to wonder who had done it (John 5:13).

The second man was a can-do kind of guy. So clever was Jacob that he was able to talk his own brother out of his birthright and blessing. Following that, everything Jacob touched seemed to turn to gold. Everything seemed to be going well until he heard that his brother was coming to see him - accompanied by four hundred fighting men. Jacob was worried. As he camped by the brook Jabbok on the evening before he would meet his brother, the Angel of the Lord came to him and wrestled with him. “I’m not going to let you go until You bless me,” Jacob vowed. As morning dawned, the Angel of the Lord dislocated Jacob’s hip as if to say, “You’re not going to be Jacob - or “heel-snatcher” - any longer. You’re going to be Israel, or “governed by God.” Jacob arose - but would walk as a broken man who would need to lean on the Rock of his salvation, who would need to be governed by God each step of the way. Thus, in his weakness, he was indeed made stronger (Genesis 32).

Sometimes the Lord allows us to limp permanently because it forces us to lean on Him. “Why am I still struggling with that?” we wonder. “Why is that temptation or problem back again?”

I suggest it is the Lord saying, “I want you to lean on Me. You’ll draw close to Me in ways you never would have otherwise.” Maybe you’ve been set free - but perhaps the Lord is taking you into deeper water. He wants to do more than give you victory, He wants to be your Victor. I suggest that is why David declares that he is ready to halt if that’s what it takes for him to lean on the Lord every step of the way.