I suppose that some who read this story have had a broken bone at some time. Those of you who have broken a bone will remember the plaster cast that was not supposed to get wet. And I’m sure you’ll remember how your arm or hand or leg or foot itched under the cast where you couldn’t scratch it. You’ll also remember how there were some activities that you could not do in your normal way. But most of all, you’ll remember the pain. Broken bones really hurt!
We were taking care of my cousin’s dog. This dog loved to chase me and nip at my heels. Being only six years old at the time, I was afraid of the dog and would run away from him. I have since learned that, instead of running away, it is better to face a problem, nipping dogs included. But I ran.
There were abandoned streetcar tracks crossing the field where I was running. I tripped over the first rail and landed on the second one. The pain I felt in my arm told me something was very wrong. I headed home, went into the house and told my mother, “I hurt my arm.” My lower right arm was hanging limp! Mom took one look and turned white.
In those days we didn’t have special bone doctors; we had a family doctor, and that’s where my dad took me. The doctor xrayed my elbow and told us my arm was broken in the worst possible place - the elbow socket. The arm was set at a ninety-degree angle in a plaster cast, and I had to wear a sling around my neck to hold up my arm.
That night my dear dad sat up with a very pain-filled little boy who didn’t sleep much. Besides comforting me in my pain, he faithfully told me that God, in love, was speaking to me through this accident. Dad explained that even though I was a sinner, God loved me so much that He sent His only Son, the Lord Jesus, down to this earth to bear the pain of the terrible Roman crucifixion. On that cross, that holy, sinless Son of God died for me. Dad told me that Christ rose from the dead, went back to heaven, and was waiting for me to accept Him as my Saviour.
I can’t say I understood all that Dad talked to me about that night. However, it was the beginning of a work in my heart that led me later to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour.
God often speaks to us, and if we don’t listen, then sometimes “he [you and I] is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones with strong pain” (Job 33:19). This is exactly what happened to me and eventually helped me to see, even as a young boy, what a sinner I was. “Then He is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the pit: I have found a ransom” (Job 33:24). “Christ Jesus; who gave Himself a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:56).
God has fearfully and wonderfully made our bodies, and in six weeks the bone in my arm had healed and my cast came off. But what was wrong? I couldn’t straighten my arm! The muscles had shrunk and weakened because I hadn’t used them for six weeks. To strengthen those muscles, the doctor had me carry a pail of sand around for a certain amount of time every day until my arm was straight again.
The muscles in my arm had become weak because I couldn’t use them while the cast was on. Our hearts and consciences will become weak if we don’t read God’s Word every day and spend some time praying. Satan, our enemy, is quick to use the weakness in our souls to lead us into a path of sin. Let’s remember to read our Bibles and pray every day so we keep our hearts and consciences healthy and strong.
ML-07/13/2003