At the age of 23, my body stopped working properly. For some reason my knees were full of pain and it was everything I could do to stand. For years I sought answers and relief from the constant pain. I prayed and prayed for healing and I fought to continue with normal life, in spite of the torment each step produced. I wrestled with God and asked all those deep “Why” questions.
 
Then one day God taught me a new way to pray. He guided me to pray not for healing, but to just give the whole situation to him. To learn to live with this pain, at this point held at bay with some pretty powerful (and expensive) drugs. And to be thankful for it. I will admit that I was reluctant to be thankful for some random disease that would affect me all my life. But I tried. I looked at what God had taught me through this process. I saw how much closer I was walking with Jesus because walking on my own meant pain. Slowly, my mind and heart changed, so that I saw this pain as a gift from God.
 
And that’s when God went to work. He lessened the pain more and more over a period of years. I stopped the drugs and now the only pain from this disease exists in my memory. I am grateful beyond words, but not just for healing. Rather I am grateful for the whole process. I am grateful for the fire of refinement - for the unique and counter intuitive way that God uses to take the awful stuff on earth and turn it into freedom and light and glory.
 
Am I saying that all you have to do is give your pain to God and it will be healed? No, but I do know that without giving whatever it is to God’s control, you will never have a chance of seeing Him use it in whatever way He wants to.
 
And that’s the beauty of God’s redemption. He is such a gentle God that he will not take our pain. He will wait for us to give it to Him. But when we do, he will change it into something beautiful and pure. You see, God will only redeem what we give to him. What do you need to turn in to God, for Him to redeem?