Everyone you know has a limp.
You have a limp.
And so do I.

It’s not necessarily visible. In fact, most people hide their limp really well in public.

But it’s still there.

Deep inside, coming to the surface in times of stress or sorrow, worry or weariness, anger or anxiety.

It’s a spiritual limp.

You see, a physical limp makes it difficult or even painful to walk. It can be easily seen by others and is sometimes marked by special footwear, crutches, braces, or canes.

But a spiritual limp, that’s not so easy to see. A spiritual limp makes it difficult to walk alongside others, to walk in peace, to walk with confidence, to walk with hope…and it can be very, very painful, emotionally taxing and mentally draining. To detect a spiritual limp, you have to really spend time with a person, listen to them, look into their eyes, walk with them in times of joy and times of struggle.

A physical limp typically comes from a genetic condition, or trauma, or just wear and tear on the body over time.

A spiritual limp has similar beginnings. It can come as a result of genetics, bearing the fallout of Adam and Eve’s sin, or trauma (physical, emotional, relational, mental), or just the wear and tear our spirits take living in this old world and wrestling with sin day in and day out.

Much like a physical limp, these unseen spiritual limps slow us down and make it difficult to do certain activities.

If a physical limp isn’t corrected or supported with assistive gear, soon other parts of the body begin to experience damage from misalignment or overcompensation.

Much like a physical limp, left untreated a spiritual limp can throw other parts of our hearts, minds, and lives into misalignment and disrepair.

Let’s look at an example.

Over the past year it’s come to my attention that I have a spiritual limp called “perfectionism”. I believe I have carried it all of my life. I can’t tell you how it started, but I know it’s always been my tendency to see the potential of something or someone and want to make it, or them, better. I’ve always operated on the premise of reaching the ideal condition.

That perfectionist tendency comes from a good place with the intention of helping and encouraging, but, left untreated, when some emotional trauma hit me in my late teens, I picked up a second, related condition, “performance”. And that limp of perfectionism turned further inward and became a belief that I was not good enough, that I had to do more, be more, earn more, help others be more, do more in order to have value myself.

And oh sweet friends, like having a bad knee throw your hip out, before long, that pair of perfectionism and performance kicked my concept of time out of alignment and introduced impatience. Impatience with people with situations with how long it takes to reach the ideal, with how I am not or someone else is not performing good enough, fast enough…

And ugh. You may not see me limp or slow down, but the evidence is in the curve of my brow, the set of my jaw, the tears that well up but don’t fall, the gravel in my voice, the way I withdraw from people or projects. And to make it all worse, the original limp of perfection urges me to keep it all hidden, stuff it down and don’t let anyone see that anything is wrong.

Dear heart, these are the limps I walk with every day. Maybe you share some of them. Maybe my example has helped you see some of your own.

I hope it has. It’s good to know what’s going on with your spirit.

It’s even better to get help for that limp. We can help each other for sure, like two people in a three legged race. But you know Who’s even better at helping a spiritual limp?

The Great Physician, our Lord God Almighty.

I’ve learned that the cure for my limp is grace, grace, and more grace. That’s not to say I’m cured, far from it, but I’m in treatment and I’ve had some really great days and even weeks of remission from perfectionism, performance, and/or impatience.

Some limps heal more quickly than others, and the healing time is most often determined by how well we keep up with the treatment regiment. When I stay in God’s Word, in prayer and communion with God, in praise and worship of God, I remember to apply that treatment of grace to my life and to those around me. When I wander into busyness or selfishness with my time, I forget to receive grace or to give it and then, boom, I’m limping pretty badly again.

Beloved, everyone has a limp. Maybe it’s a single limp. Maybe it’s a limp that’s thrown a few other things out of whack in life. I encourage you today to stop hiding that limp and start seeking treatment. Ask God to examine your spirit, to make you aware of your need, and then ask Him to treat it. He is a faithful and fantastic physician. You can’t go wrong with His treatment plan. It may be a quick heal or a long road to recovery, but either way, His way is the best way.

Don’t keep limping through life, battling flare ups, letting that limp slow you down or hold you back. Jesus offers us life more abundant and free. Open your hands and grab hold of the hem of His robes. The path to healing is one prayer away.