How God Used My Injury and Weakness For His Glory
In Part 3 of #WellnessWeek2017, my friend Becca Nail shares some of her recent wellness struggles. What do you do when things don’t go the way you want them to go?
As I’ve shared on this blog before, my wellness story centers around a similar theme: what do I do when the results differ from what I expected and what I thought I deserved?
Becca answers these questions as she shares lessons she’s learned in her journey to wellness.
I sat in a doctor’s office at Baylor Dallas on June 24th, 2016 when I heard the following words: “You have a pretty moderate to severely herniated disc between your L4-L5 vertebrae, Becca. This is why you are experiencing intense and chronic nerve pain. We need to get you scheduled for surgery.”
Fast forward to March 7th, 2017. I sat in the same doctor’s office and found out that my 2016-surgically repaired disc re-herniated. “But, wait!!! I’ve been so careful. You told me this surgery has a 95% success rate. Am I really the unlucky one who fell into the five percent?”
The news crushed me. The chronic nerve pain that shot in my back and down my right leg had come back like a familiar, yet very unwelcome, visitor. What on earth!? Was I going to be the 27-year-old girl who underwent two back surgeries in less than a year?
For the past four years, I faithfully committed myself to learn about proper stewardship of my body.
I put in the work to get to a healthy relationship with the Lord and recognize that physical fitness and proper nutrition are for God’s glory and not my own.
I discovered a direct correlation between my physical wellness and my spiritual wellness.
On a regular basis, I sought to root out pride and arrogance.
I had the richest and most intimate connections with the Lord when I coupled my time in His Word with a quality workout.
My affection for the Lord stirred within me whenever I rowed, lifted, and chucked a wall ball at a 10-foot target.
I had some questions.
Things were so smooth:
Why on earth would the Lord shackle me like this?
Why would God present such a behemoth of an obstacle in my path when I had been running with such a sweet stride?
Doesn’t He want me to continue to succeed in my wellness?
How am I supposed to honor my body as a temple if the temple the Lord has given me is broken and wouldn’t do what I wanted it to do?
This circumstance brought forth buckets of tears. Fear awoke me in cold sweats. The frustration was so intense that my jaw got sore from gritting my teeth.
Oswald Chambers, in his book, My Utmost For His Highest, says, “If we are obsessed by God, nothing else can get into our lives - not concerns, nor tribulation, nor worries.”
I obsessed, but you can bet your tail hind it wasn’t on God. My focus honed in on what was taken from me instead of on what remained in front of me.
Chambers goes on to say, “How can we dare to be so absolutely unbelieving when God totally surrounds us? To be obsessed by God is to have an effective barricade against all the assaults of the enemy.”
The enemy was serving up those assaults for me real nice, and I was in a tailspin. I obsessed over what I was called to steward instead of obsessing over the who and the why behind that call.
Once I took a step back, I realized there were specific steps I could take to get my heart and mind refocused on the Lord, ultimately enabling me to build up better barricades against the enemy’s attacks.
I needed to do the following:
1. Caste my fears and frustrations on God.
First, let me just say, “PRAISE BE” that God that allows us to wrestle with and cry out to Him! What a blessing it is that we have a God who cares deeply for us and sympathizes with us. What a comfort that the God of the Universe desires to shoulder our burdens with and for us.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrew 4:15)
“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” (Psalm 56:8)
2. Remember that my body is not mine.
My body is to be used how God sees fit. I’m supposed to steward my body no matter the situation He puts me in. Just because my circumstances aren’t what I would choose doesn’t exempt me from His command to give him the glory.
“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
3.Reach out to my life lines.
Honestly, I don’t believe I would have been able to pull myself out of my tailspin if it weren’t for the people who loved me and surrounded me. They remind me of truth and get down in the trenches with me.
Those shackles I felt like I was wearing would’ve remained nice and snug if I’d tried to face it alone.
When you receive frustrating news and you’re honest with your inner circle of friends, you set yourself up to a front row seat to see God at work.
“A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12)
“For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”(Matthew 18:20)
4. Change my vantage point.
Sometimes when you feel shackled by something, you can’t take your eyes off those shackles. When you’re in the trenches, you have trouble seeing the actual ground that has been taken, or the amazing victory that lies in wait.
As mentioned above, I was so focused on what had been taken away from me, I wasn’t seeing the opportunity in front of me. It wasn’t until friends helped pick me up so I could see all the Lord still had yet to do through my spiritual and physical wellness.
“It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.” (Psalm 119:71)
“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-11)
Gah! It is good to have friends that can see my blindspots and a God who loves me through my circumstances. With this new vantage point, I’m starting to see that I haven’t been shackled at all. Rather, I'm commissioned to partner with God in my sanctification, knowing that this circumstance and whatever follows brings Him the most glory.
For more from #WellnessWeek2017, click here:
Becca Nail: I’ve been on staff at Watermark Community Church for the past four years on the Operations Team. Outside of my nine to five, I’m passionate about wellness. I love using the modality of fitness to share my faith and passion for the Lord. If you get the chance to log some hang time with me, three things will become very apparent; I am hyper loyal, obsessed with the Great State of Texas, and I tend to be what some might call a bit “dramatic” (in the most endearing way, of course).