Transformative Suffering

Lately I’ve been suffering from a condition known as “frozen shoulder,” which is exactly what it sounds like. And that condition has stirred up a lot of nerve pain in my right arm and hand. It’s made things difficult. Simple things like sleeping, brushing my hair, and putting on clothes have become a painful challenge. And for that reason, my eyes are pink-rimmed, my hair is frizzy, and the neckline of all my shirts are all stretched out. I am altogether disheveled. 

It’s so easy to view difficulties in life, in whatever form they come, as things merely to be gotten over. But this morning as I was reading Psalm 119, I remembered that they can be more than that if I commit them to the Lord. 

Psalm 119:148 says, “My eyes are awake through the night watches, that I may meditate on Your word.”

Restless sleep, when committed to the Lord, can become a time to meditate on truth. 

Psalm 119:150-151 says, “They draw near who follow after wickedness; they are far from Your law. You are near, O Lord, and all your commandments are truth.”

Reading these verses, I imagine the Psalmist with wicked men encircling him. But even as they are drawing near, the Psalmist realizes God Himself is already right there beside him. And a fearful moment becomes a courageous one—as he remembers that God is more present, and more powerful than whatever or whoever comes against him. 

I haven’t been viewing my current difficulty in this potentially transformative way. It’s merely been an infuriating inconvenience. But today I’m going to try to think of it differently—to use this time rather than to only wish it away. Who knows what good thing God will make of it? I’ll let you know!

This week, look for something you can commit into God’s hands. He will do good work with it.

Blessings to you,

Amy