“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.” Romans 8:28
It felt like the dark side of the moon. Well, after several stories about our great adventure across the Atlantic and around Western Europe you probably know we had a great time. However, there was one thing that was going on that was anything but enjoyable. You see for the last year or so, I have been wrestling with my lower back. Can I have a witness? I know there are a lot of you out there that know all about lower back pain. Well, you probably also know that it sometimes shows itself not in the back but as a pain that makes your leg feel like it wants to fall off. If you have had this before, please raise your hand. My hand is in the air.
Even while we prepared for our great adventure, my leg was messing with me but I could still do life. While it was painful it was more like a rock in your shoe…uncomfortable but manageable…even for a professional whiner like me. So we boarded the ship with the rock still in my shoe but like I said no big deal. Then…well…it was. On the Monday after Easter, I woke up and realized that something had changed. The bottom line was every step I took was just down right painful. I was doing everything I could to manage the pain…stretching exercises and a hefty dose of Ibuprofen but nothing seemed to help. I even prayed. I asked God to please heal my leg or give me grace to endure.
So our cruise was 25 days long with a three day stent in London at the end and I need to tell you that it was difficult. Everyday this pain was my constant companion. I prayed and prayed some more but the answer I wanted was not the one I got. I thought about Paul, the Bible guy, in 2 Corinthians when he prayed for a healing but God simply said no. He told him that His grace was sufficient–enough. And Paul, who was a way more spiritual than me said ok and when on with it. I took a different route…I tried whining.
Well, the bottom line was the pain continued and I called my doctor in Harrisburg from London and told him what was going on and he agreed to see me as soon as I got back. A couple of days later we met and he gave me a shot of something and a prescription for the pain. Well, in a couple of days the pain was greatly diminished and I could walk…almost pain free. And, gratefully, for the last couple of weeks with a couple of small exceptions, I have been able to keep walking. Yay.
Here’s the deal. God did it. He might have done it with the medicine or all by Himself but He did it. To me it doesn’t matter. All that matters is…He did it. I have thanked Him a zillion times. But recently there was an addition to my prayer of gratitude. I thanked Him for the pain. Wait. What? Yup. You see if I had never experienced the pain then I could never experienced Him answering my prayer and healing my leg. He worked but it was in His way and in His time.
So if you are going through a difficult time you might want to consider this. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.” I think that at least in part means that we can trust that no matter what, God is working, for us and with us. How about that. So now is a good time to be reminded that we can rest in full assurance that, “He’s got this.” And…He does. Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 