Dean was out bike riding early one morning. At the same time Will and his friend were out on a road trip. Visibility was difficult and unfortunately they did not see Dean on his bike until it was too late. Dean’s spine was dislocated and he was subsequently paralysed from the waist down. People began to pray thanks to the message being spread on social media. His surgery was successful and the doctor was able to offer a tiny hope that he would walk again. Dean felt hopeful enough to challenge himself and his doctor to run a half marathon. The doctor was inspired by his faith and agreed to do it but in reality he did not expect that the opportunity would ever come. However, a year later, they did run the marathon together and finished in under two hours - just as Dean had promised himself. This was not the end of the miracle. Will, the young driver who had run into him also ran with them and the three finished together. It turns out that while he was in the hospital, Will had visited him and apologised for what he had done. Dean had offered forgiveness, reminding him that it was an accident and that he didn’t want him to carry this burden around with him for the rest of his life. In fact, he wanted him to process it and move on. Will felt a weight lifted off of him and the two remained in contact.  
    I am encouraged by this story because in life you never know what unexpected thing may come your way or when it may come. Dean was out on his usual bike ride I am sure and never expected that he would end up paralysed from his waist down. Will and his friend were looking forward to their road trip and never knew that their road trip would turn into a nightmare. This is the reason why it is so important to just give your day to God. Even if negative things come your way, trust that God has it all under control. Dean wasn’t sure he would ever walk again but he lived in hope especially when he was able to slightly move one of his toes. He also had his faith in his God and huge prayer support. God had not left him. God knew exactly what would happen to him that day but God had a plan for it all. Not only did God heal him and help him to recover to the point where he could run a half marathon a year later, God also provided emotional healing - to the young man, Will, who had run into him! God did not just heal the victim but the person responsible for the accident! 
    When God works, He does a complete work. In this case, He performed both physical and emotional healing. God was concerned about Will too and through this unfortunate incident, birthed a relationship that never would have happened had the accident not taken place. 
    We can’t always trace why God allows bad things to happen but we can trust that He will bring good out of it, sometimes for everyone involved. When we look at all the miracles that Jesus performed, I am sure not one of those people were happy in their situations. For some, like the woman with the issue of blood, they even had to endure being treated like outcasts because they were considered unclean (Mark 5:25-34). Every situation was painful, every situation was a challenge but for many who came to Him in faith, He healed. Their pain, their suffering was not in vain. In fact, their situations brought glory to God and maybe that was the true purpose behind all they went through. Without their suffering people would not have received the opportunity to see what God could do.
    I also think here of the story of Lazarus (John 11:1-44). Jesus had been told that he was sick. Jesus could have gone to him as soon as He heard the news but He chose to wait a few more days before going to him. By that time of course he was already dead. Jesus told his disciples plainly: “Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe” (vv. 14-15). Jesus could have healed him while he was sick but He chose instead to do something greater - raise him from the dead! God always has a greater plan for our situation, greater than anything we can imagine or believe. 
    So, no matter how bad it looks, or feels, God has a plan for it. No, God isn’t trying to make your life miserable - that’s what the devil may want you to believe. God may choose to use your situation to bring hope and healing to many others. Your pain is simply a chapter in your life story … but it’s not necessarily your whole story. Once your life is in God’s hands, every aspect of it, both good and bad, God will use to bring honour and glory to Him. It is not about you, but about His purpose for your life and every step of your journey, both good and bad, counts!
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Savior I invite you to do so now. Simply ask Him to come into your life, forgive you of all your sins and make your life into the beautiful story of hope He wants it to be. There is purpose for your pain and struggles because in God’s hands NOTHING is wasted! 

Today was one of those days where I found myself searching for something to write about. I began looking at a few videos trying to find some inspiration. Not surprisingly, they all spoke to me in some form or fashion as they each reminded me of the goodness and faithfulness of God.
    The last video I watched was not a story of God’s miraculous physical healing power like the first two. Rather, it was a testimony that some can relate to. Ruth was a college student juggling a heavy course load, facing the reality of a failing marriage and starting to have flashbacks of abuse as a child. She was feeling overwhelmed and when she could not take it anymore, she decided to end her life. She took some pills along with vodka. Firemen had to break down her door and found her on the floor. She went into a coma and doctors gave her a ten percent chance of survival. When she did awaken from her coma, she was disappointed that she had survived. She made more attempts after that to end her life and consequently many visits to the hospital.
    This part of her testimony reminds me of the reality that even as children of God, we face battles, sometimes on a daily basis, and we too feel overwhelmed. I wish I could say that as a child of God all of our problems disappear and that we live happy, carefree lives. The reality is that the devil will always be working hard to destroy us - that’s his job. We may experience seasons of happiness where things seem to be going alright, but then we also experience sometimes long difficult seasons where we wonder how we are going to make it through. We pray, we trust God, we get into His Word, in short, we do what we may know to do to simply make it through. Yet, it can be hard. 
    In one of the other testimonies I watched, Jessica found out that she was terminally ill with  breast cancer. Unfortunately, the cancer was also found in all of the lymph nodes under her arms. As if that wasn’t enough, she was pregnant. Against all hope, Jessica put her trust in her God. Even as she went through painful treatment, she kept her eyes on God and found comfort and strength as she remembered that Jesus went through worse for her. Just like Ruth in the other testimony, it was difficult for her. I couldn’t help but notice that in spite of all the negatives she faced, she absolutely refused to give up on her God. She even admitted that even if God had allowed the cancer to spread all over her body she would still love Him! 
    Sometimes, it’s not about God doing it our way or even doing what we want, but having the confidence that He knows what is best and His best will always be good for us. Yes, God did heal her and she did deliver a healthy baby boy and she gives all the praise and thanks to God.
    Ruth, on the other hand, did not have that relationship with God like Jessica did. After her many failed attempts at suicide, she finally started back therapy and  made progress towards her healing. Her first marriage ended but she got married again and life really improved for her. Yet, she felt that something was missing. Finally, she and her husband started going to church and one day she made up her mind to surrender her life to Christ. That was the missing link. On top of that, she was able to finally realise that, all along, God was putting the right people in the right place at the time to help her. In short, He was taking care of her. That caught my attention because in this testimony, this person wasn’t even serving God yet God was taking care of her even when she had not surrendered to Him. I find this encouraging because God’s love goes above and beyond. I look at the number of times she tried to end her life and God refused to allow her to die. He had a plan and purpose for her life and He was not about to allow her to miss His best for her. 
    No matter what you are going through, no matter how you are messing up, God loves you. He doesn’t just love His children who have surrendered their lives to Him, He loves even those who are running from Him, trying to live their lives their way without His help. What I love, is when she said that all along God had been putting the right people in the right place at the right time to help her. 
    Who has God been sending your way to help, to encourage, to be a source of strength to you? When we are going through, it can be so difficult to see all the people God is using to help us, all the holes, ditches and pitfalls that He is preventing us from falling into, all the things He is protecting us from. Just because we can’t see it, doesn’t mean that He isn’t working on our behalf, doesn’t mean that He doesn’t care. Sometimes, in retrospect, as we look back over our lives, we realise that God was there all along, carrying us, protecting us, keeping us, just plain loving us!
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I invite you to do so now. God cares about you, He loves you and wants what is best for you. The beautiful part is the fact that you don’t have to be perfect, you don’t have to have it all together. God wants you just as you are and He knows exactly how to fix every problem in every area of your life.