Gain from the Pain
It was the bottom of the sixth inning. Tim Raines of the Montreal Expos was at the plate. The San Francisco Giants' pitcher, Dave Dravecky, wound up and threw the ball toward the catcher as hard as he could. It was the last pitch he would ever throw. A loud sickening crack was heard all over the stadium. Dravecky's pitching arm had been weakened by undiscovered cancer and his humerus bone snapped in two. "My arm felt like it had been hit with a meat axe," the pitcher said. He tumbled head first to the ground while screaming and holding his broken arm.
He had to have his arm amputated to stop the spread of cancer. His baseball career was over.
Several weeks after his surgery, Dravecky returned to Jack Murphy Stadium to thank his teammates, fans, and friends. He received a long standing ovation. As he had many times since his surgery, he glorified God and gave praise to Jesus Christ.
After his return to the stadium he received hundreds of invitations to speak during the next year. Dravecky has been an inspirational speaker and author ever since.
(Taken from Comeback, by Dave Dravecky with Tim Stafford)
For the single-minded Christ follower, the pain of adversity is always an opportunity to grow in our faith in God, and be used by Him for kingdom work, in ways we could never have imagined before. The Apostle Paul wrote from prison to the church in Philippi, "And I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News." Phil 1:12
The witness of the Apostle Paul and many Christians, who have found victory in the midst of and after adversity, points the way for us to gain joy from the pain we are allowed to suffer in our lives. That's right, I said "allowed". I know it is more fun when we are looking at the world from the mountain tops, but real spiritual growth comes when we are traveling through the dark valleys of life. God allows us to suffer the pain of adversity so He can mold us to be more like Jesus.
Dear Friends and Family of LCC. This Sunday I will continue teaching in a series from the book of Philippians, EPIC Joy. This week's message will be from Phil. 1:12-26. I am calling it, "Gain from the Pain."
He had to have his arm amputated to stop the spread of cancer. His baseball career was over.
Several weeks after his surgery, Dravecky returned to Jack Murphy Stadium to thank his teammates, fans, and friends. He received a long standing ovation. As he had many times since his surgery, he glorified God and gave praise to Jesus Christ.
After his return to the stadium he received hundreds of invitations to speak during the next year. Dravecky has been an inspirational speaker and author ever since.
(Taken from Comeback, by Dave Dravecky with Tim Stafford)
For the single-minded Christ follower, the pain of adversity is always an opportunity to grow in our faith in God, and be used by Him for kingdom work, in ways we could never have imagined before. The Apostle Paul wrote from prison to the church in Philippi, "And I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News." Phil 1:12
The witness of the Apostle Paul and many Christians, who have found victory in the midst of and after adversity, points the way for us to gain joy from the pain we are allowed to suffer in our lives. That's right, I said "allowed". I know it is more fun when we are looking at the world from the mountain tops, but real spiritual growth comes when we are traveling through the dark valleys of life. God allows us to suffer the pain of adversity so He can mold us to be more like Jesus.
Dear Friends and Family of LCC. This Sunday I will continue teaching in a series from the book of Philippians, EPIC Joy. This week's message will be from Phil. 1:12-26. I am calling it, "Gain from the Pain."
posted by Royal | 12:11 PM
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