All In All 5 Day Devotional Muestra

I love college baseball. Specifically, I love Mississippi State baseball. And a few months ago, when I was walking (quickly, mind you) into the SEC Baseball Tournament so that I could watch my beloved Bulldogs play, I found myself in the middle of a mishap. The toe of my shoe caught on the edge of some concrete, and before I could say, “OH, NO—MY WEDGES HAVE BETRAYED ME,” I was facedown in the concourse and experiencing some significant pain in the upper region of my right foot.

As soon as I stood up, I thought, Well, it would seem that I’ve broken my foot. And about an hour later—after I’d been X-rayed and introduced to an orthopedic boot that would be my constant companion for the next two months—a trainer confirmed that my initial diagnosis was accurate. I spent the rest of the summer in a sassy black boot, doing my best to take care of the bone that was broken. But even though I knew, in the midst of the brokenness, that I needed to heal, there were days when I was totally annoyed by the whole healing process. It was far easier to hobble around bootless than to feel constricted by that hot, heavy boot with the straps and the Velcro and the foam. I resented the recuperation time, to be perfectly honest.

But then the Lord did the sweetest thing. Toward the end of the aftermath of “The Unfortunate Wedge- Related Accident”—as the boot continued to protect and support what was broken—I felt the Holy Spirit remind me of three words over and over again: “Take your time.” When I was tempted to hurry, when I was tempted to wear my favorite wedges, when I was tempted to think that my foot was back to normal and really, I’m fine! The foot is good! Everything’s awesome!—that’s when the Lord gave me a refrain: Take your time.

So often we want to hurry our healing, whether we’ve been physically hurt, emotionally hurt, spiritually hurt, or some combination of the three. No matter how our hurt happened, we can easily find ourselves wanting to rush the recovery. But there are three good things to remember when we find ourselves in the middle of that process: 

1. What looks okay on the outside still might not be okay on the inside. Take your time.

2. Before you’re ready to run again—whether that’s literally or figuratively—you have to relearn to use what’s been broken. Take your time.

3. Just because it doesn’t hurt as much doesn’t mean it’s healed. Take your time.

Rest in the knowledge and the hope that the Lord is the Great Physician. He is our Healer. Cooperate with Him as He mends the places in you that are broken. Thank Him for His tender loving care today.