In The Secret Place….

In January, I broke a bone in my hand. Somehow I forgot I wasn’t young anymore and so while playing volleyball with the kids and some friends, did an awesome shot and felt a sharp pain in my hand. Being the (stubborn) hero that I am, it wasn’t till 4 days later I got it checked out and sure enough, there on the x-ray was a piece of bone where it shouldn’t be.

So my arm was placed in a cast for 6 weeks.
The cast was a pain!  No swimming (in the middle of summer!) 3 layers covering it while showering, it was hot, it was sweaty and it was itchy. Admittedly there were some perks, I couldn’t do dishes, peel potatoes or fold the washing. The family was awesome at pitching in….but it definitely was not my plan for the summer.

But while the cast was on, there was something going on under it. The bone that was broken was healing. It wasn’t obvious, it wasn’t miraculous, and it wasn’t outwardly changing. But under the safety of that cast, there was healing, mending, and restoration going on.

When the cast came off after the 6 weeks, there was no obvious healing to be seen. You could see the healed bone on the x-ray, but to look at my arm, it looked just the same!

How often is our Christian walk like that. It’s not the big, the spectacular, or the miraculous that changes our lives most often. It is the stuff that happens in the secret place that really shapes and molds us. Often it is unseen by us and by others, yet when we look back we can see the change that has taken place. The feelings that were hurt, now whole. The heart that was broken, now restored. And the past that was shattered, now fully made new.

I know I can go for weeks, or even months and not notice a difference in my walk with God, well at least that what it looks like from the outside. But all the while God is working away and changing me into more of the woman He has called me to be. He is working in the secret place and mending all that is broken within me. He is restoring my heart and giving me hope.

Psalm 91:1 reads:

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

Jesus paid the price for our sins so we can rest in the presence of the Almighty. He died on the cross so we could be made whole and so we could live a life of freedom. When my arm was broken, there was nothing I could do to fix it except rest. I couldn’t make it heal any faster. So is our walk with God. He doesn’t expect us to perform, but to just rest in him as our healing quietly and secretly takes place.

How is God working in your life at the moment?
What is going on in that secret place?
What is He healing and mending?
Is He asking you to just rest as He brings restoration to your life?

Whatever you are going through this week, it is my prayer that you dwell in the shelter of the Almighty. That you would rest in Him, and know that the healing will come.