A Proper Diagnosis - What She Said Part 14 - Week 7 Day 7

TODAY'S TREASURE

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Romans 3:23-24

Transcript

A Proper Diagnosis

Patsy Kuipers, Guest Writer

Today’s Treasure

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Romans 3:23-24

Even though I’ve faithfully stretched and exercised throughout my adult years, I have stiff muscles. Various stressors, both physical and emotional, have no doubt contributed to my tightly-wound state. The tension increases and decreases, often without a clear cause and effect, but it never disappears completely. 

Several years ago, a prolonged period of tender-to-the-touch joints and knotty muscles left me feeling dejected. Thankfully, a series of medical tests ruled out several serious possibilities, but being no closer to a solution, I obtained a referral for physical therapy. 

When I went for the initial evaluation, I told the therapist she was my last hope. She maintained a professional demeanor but probably thought, “Just great! How did this woman end up on my schedule?” She proceeded with the assessment, asking questions and directing me to bend first one way, then another.

In summarizing her findings, she stated, “Your overall strength is good, and your range of motion is somewhat greater than normal. Your joints are loose.”

Attempting to interject some humor, I replied, “Then I guess it’s a good thing my muscles are tight so they can hold me together.” 

The therapist didn’t laugh. Instead, she provided the missing piece that allowed me to solve the years-long mystery: “Oh, your muscles really are working overtime to provide the stability your joints and ligaments would normally provide.”

And what did I do with this critical bit of information? I turned to Google, of course! A search of “loose joints, tight muscles” yielded a name for my condition: joint hypermobility syndrome. As I read article after article, years of confounding experiences began to make sense. In trying to help myself, I’d unknowingly inflicted more harm, specifically by over-stretching and requesting too much pressure during my periodic massage therapy sessions. Sadly, my body interpreted these efforts as an assault on its alternative stabilization method. The outcome? More tightness, more trigger points, and more tenderness around my joints. 

The relief of finally understanding what I’d been battling for so long, mingled with deep disappointment at the realization I couldn’t fix it. It’s the way God knit me together. At best, I could learn how to manage it. Once enlightened, I focused on strength and balance, paid more attention to my posture, and became vigilant regarding adding pressure (physical and emotional) to an already-stressed system. It was hard to be patient while my body adjusted to the new approach, but consistent implementation of the changes over the past few years has resulted in significant improvements. 

The spiritual parallels are hard to ignore. Before God calls us to Himself, we lack a proper diagnosis. We sense something’s awry, something’s missing. Our attempts to feel better frequently result in the opposite or are short-lived. Because we’re created in God’s image, made to glorify Him and enjoy fellowship with Him, nothing else can satisfy our souls’ deepest longings. These quotes from the past eloquently describe our dilemma: 

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” (4)

“What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.” (5) 

“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” (6)

LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT

Unlike my predicament of waiting years for a proper diagnosis, God already knows what’s wrong with us and can provide an effective cure. At the appointed time, He replaces our hearts of stone with hearts of flesh. We begin to understand our condition and the sin that separates us from our Father. There’s nothing we can do to repair our brokenness. Fortunately, He doesn’t leave us in our helpless state. He sent His only begotten Son to heal our souls and restore the family bonds broken at the fall. Jesus, the Great Physician, took our infirmities on Himself and bore our iniquities. His wounds brought about our healing. His righteousness, graciously granted to us who were once lost, ensures our eternal inheritance. 

Even though Jesus’ perfect obedience has been credited to our accounts, fully paying the debt we owe our Holy God, we will struggle with the effects of sin, ours and that of others, as long as we’re in this world. Like my impatience with my physical progress, there are times when, with the Apostle Paul, I lament my inability to obey my Father consistently. Nevertheless, with the help of the Spirit, we’re being conformed more and more to the likeness of our elder Brother. Bit by bit, we shed the old and put on the new. The transformation will continue until Jesus’ promised return, when all will be made new and perfect, and God will complete the good work He’s begun in us. 

PRAYER

Dear Lord, thank You for providing the cure we so desperately needed, the only one that would suffice. As the Great Physician, You came to heal sin-sick souls, a task You fully accomplished on the cross.

(4) St. Augustine, Confessions, c. AD 400.

(5) Blaise Pascal, Pensées, 1692

(6) C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, 1952.