![[Graphic of Scripture verse-]](https://www.deankwilson.com/Blog_images/merciful_father.jpg)
| “Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise.” |
| —Proverbs 19:20 |
Every person who has faced difficulty in this life wishes he or she could do so with courage and strength. No one desires to face his or her problems with an attitude of defeat. Yet, when trouble comes at us, sometimes it wears us down.
I have suffered with what the doctors call “profound progressive osteo-arthritis” of the knees, hips, and back for the last 23 years, coupled with a chronic bone infection of my right foot that eventually—after 19 years— resulted in the amputation of my right leg below the knee. Long before the amputation, these virtually untreatable diseases robbed me of my job. It took away my ability to climb stairs. It has severely limited my ability to walk.
I am fortunate to now live in a wonderful home that is all on one floor—truly a gift from God. In my previous home, I could not climb stairs to the second floor, nor descend the stairs to the basement. When I leave my home, I must either walk with a walker, or ride in a powered wheel chair.
Let me be clear: I am not complaining! God has been so very good to me across the span of my life. He gave me loving parents who adopted me and made many sacrifices to give me every possible opportunity. Over the years, He has opened numerous doors for me that have greatly enriched my life with opportunities that I certainly did not deserve.
On at least two occasions, God preserved my life when I could easily have died. The depth of gratitude I feel for His love and care exceeds my ability to express it adequately.
Most of the time—99% of the time—I face my disability with grace and strength, even courage. But once in a while, I become so very tired of my limitations and the discomfort of my illness. I have always far too rapidly expressed my emotions. When I am frustrated by my inability to perform tasks that I used to so easily perform, my frustration is often perceived by others as anger.
In those few times when I become frustrated by my current physical condition, I long to fall back in God’s loving arms and, once again become “untouched by trouble.” You see, God doesn’t promise a life free of trouble. But, He does promise to insulate us from the way trouble affects us.
Notice what King Solomon writes in Proverbs 19:20-23:
Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise.
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
What a person desires is unfailing love; better to be poor than a liar.
The fear (deep, profound honor and respect) of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble.
As we begin a new day, I invite you to join me in a spirit of thankfulness to God. Let’s praise and thank God for His unfailing, undying love that keeps our heads above the flood waters of trouble.
Based on a blog originally posted on Tuesday, July 21, 2015
