“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (Jas 1:2-4, NKJV)
I sprained my big toe last Sunday morning. I was rushing to get ready for Choir practice, but when I noticed that I had about 30 extra minutes, I realized I had just enough time to do an arm workout.
My son has set up a little “gym” in our basement, complete with a benchpress, a bar for weight lifting, and of course, dumbbells. Ever since finishing physiotherapy for my torn rotator cuff last year, I have been working out regularly with the hope that a strong back, chest and core will help prevent similar injuries in the future. It’s kind of like my own version of physiotherapy!
As I hurried downstairs that morning, however, I was struck with the idea that I shouldn’t try to squeeze the workout in, that instead, I should spend my extra time with God.
I didn’t listen.
The second exercise on the list was called “dumbbell press.” Not wanting to lay on the bare floor, I took the bar off the bench press and put it on the floor, and I proceeded to use the bench to do my presses. This particular workout requires using increasingly-heavy weights, and I got up to get heavier dumbbells. The only problem was, with my mind was so taken up with getting through the workout before church, I forgot I had left the bar in the middle of the floor! You guessed it: down I went.
I immediately noticed the dull ache in my big toe, but I decided to ignore it, and my good intentions took me into the next exercise. That’s when the throb in my toe turned into a sharp pain, and tearing off my sock I realized the truth: My big toe was twice its normal size, and such a beautiful shade of purple! By the end of the day, I could barely hobble along. So much for my workout routine. Hey, forget the workout routine, so much for doing anything, including the walking I am required to do at work!
Right at the start, people began praying for my toe, and I was sure God would heal it. After all, He had preformed a similar miracle on a broken toe 15 years earlier. But He didn’t this time. You see, my broken toe years ago was injured in an honest accident, not while doing something that God had told me not to do. Could it be that God had a lesson for me to learn through this current injury? Could it be that God wanted me to understand that I need to listen to His voice of wisdom? That when I don’t, I open the door for accidents to happen?
Would I have ever learned those lessons if God had just healed my toe?
The answer is “no,” and I thank God for my big, fat, purple toe.
That’s when God began pouring His grace out upon me. My track record with such injuries dictates that sprained toes take at least 2-3 weeks to heal enough for me to be able to walk. Imagine my delight when I realized that my toe was on an accelerated healing track, when by mid-week, as long as I wore supporting shoes, I could start up my walking program again. Perhaps even more importantly, I could do the walking required of me at work!
God’s grace is unending. He allows us to go through certain things to teach us lessons, but He is still there to pour out His grace upon the repentant heart. Let’s not wish away God’s lessons. Instead, let’s embrace them and thank Him for them, ever submitting ourselves to the lessons He has for us to learn through them.
Then let’s sit back and watch the grace of God at work!
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, with Answers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.