Just as my cancer journey started to end last month, my body gave up the fight, and I woke up in a hospital ICU with brain bleeds, a concussion, separated shoulder, and multiple bruises. For the first three days I asked my husband hourly, “Why did it happen?” but there was no answer. I still daily search the crannies of my healing brain for clues on how I got from the running car in the garage to my bedroom upstairs with those injuries. There are none.
When we face trauma, it is natural to ask, “Why?” After “why” the next questions is “What did I do? Whose fault is this?” These were the questions the disciples asked Jesus as they saw a blind man:
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “Why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”
It is natural to ask these questions when we are living in situations we cannot understand or control. We look for someone to blame or at least a reason to justify the pain. I faced this for several weeks as darkness crept in and tried to rule my emotions. In one of those moments of despair, the Lord clearly spoke to me:
“Diane, stop focusing on what you don’t know. Focus on the facts, what you do know.”
Fact 1: God is on my side. He wrote my name in the Book of Life out of mercy and grace. He restored my soul.
Fact 2: “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.” John 9:3
Finally, we have a direct, sure answer from the Lord Jesus Himself about life’s pain. Whatever we are dealing with, whatever we are facing, we can be sure that “This happened so the power of God could be seen through us.”
This is a powerful revelation to a weary soul. It falls under my “Expect amazing” label for sure! Our challenges are an opportunity to show the Faithful God to the world. He overcomes grief by standing by us every moment of every day, by walking along side us through every disappointment. And as we are empowered by the Holy Spirit that dwells within us, others see possibility instead of despair. That is the answer to the “why.” That is the release of blame. And that is the strength that moves us forward to become courageous and intentional in our choices and priorities.
Still expecting amazing,
Diane Strack
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