MY HIPS DON’T LIE | Mitch Hammond

Jacob was someone who faced a battle that every single one of us faces: the battle of comparison, envy and pride. Jacob was born as a twin, arriving in second. This moment, his very first moment, came to define how he saw the world. He saw the world from second place, as if he was never quite enough and that he never had enough. This mentality caused him to cut corners and manipulate people, including his brother, his dad and his father-in-law, in order to get what he wanted. 

Each of us have an internal longing for more; more love, more money, or even more likes on Instagram, and unfortunately, all too often, we’ll compromise something to get it. Of course, there is nothing wrong with having more, the issue lies within why we want more.

We want more because we think our value and worth lie in what we have, but none of these things can ever truly satisfy and bring fulfilment to that deep desire in our hearts. 

What I love most about the story of Jacob is how God met him where he was. In fact, of all the different names in the Bible that God is called, the name He is referred to as most is ‘the God of Jacob’ and this tells me one simple yet very powerful thing: the Lord is not afraid or embarrassed to be associated with broken people, to be known as your God and to be known as my God.

Here in Genesis 32, we see a moment that changed everything for Jacob. He came to a river called the Jabbok, which means ‘a place of emptying’, exactly what needed to take place in his life. He needed to empty himself of all these feelings and thoughts that were causing him to live life in such a destructive way. God asked Jacob to confront his own nature, to get real and honest and accept who he was.

A well-known pastor, Steven Furtick, says ‘God can’t bless who we pretend to be’. The truth is, we will never be able to gain enough or earn enough to satisfy our souls. It’s at the moment we realise we’re broken and in need of help that God is right there alongside us to give it to us.

This encounter that Jacob had with the Lord left a mark, a broken hip to be more precise, that caused him to limp. I don’t know about you, but I know that I wouldn’t fancy my chances at winning a running race if I had a limp. This was God’s way of saying, ‘You don’t need to win anymore, you’ve got nothing to prove, nothing to earn’.

In the kingdom of God, the blessing isn’t for those who come first, but for those who come last. Let’s be the generation that isn’t trying to beat everyone else, but rather trying to lift others up.

It’s easy to let others go first, to lift them up, encourage, champion and honour them when we know we’re not in competition with them and our value isn’t defined by them. Long before we came into existence, God chose us and loved us, before we could do anything to earn that love. The more we realise that, the more we’ll realise we can be winning in second place.