The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him.
- Lamentations 3:25
Today's guest post is written by Emily Grenier, a Dwell member, mother of three young kids, and active participant in her local church. Her hope in Jesus is a light to all who know her.
Exactly one year ago, on my 33rd birthday, I got a call that would change my life.
It was the neurologist, and the results were in from my latest MRI: Multiple Sclerosis. I suppose it wasn’t really a surprise at that point--my hand had been numb for a year, which prompted my first MRI six months earlier. As devastating as it was to get this birthday news, I can say with certainty that the time I spent waiting for this phone call was for my good.
The first time my brain and cervical spine were scanned, it was on a Friday. We were told that something was wrong and we needed to discuss results with the doctor. I was a mess, of course, because who wants to hear something is wrong with your brain?! They then proceeded to tell me that they couldn’t get me in until Wednesday. Wednesday! I had to wait for five days to hear what was wrong with my central nervous system?! Friday and Saturday were rough as the panic and anxiety levels were through the roof inside my heart. It wasn’t until I got off google trying to figure out what was wrong with me, and got into God’s Word reminding me of the truth of the gospel, that I started to feel a sense of peace. By Wednesday, I was in a much better frame of mind as my husband and I met with the doctor. God used that time of waiting to bring me from a place of panic to a place of peace. God continued to use the next six months to prepare my heart even further for that birthday phone call with my MS diagnosis.
Often times, it is the waiting that forces our hearts to turn to God, and recognize our hope is not in doctors or in the strength of our own selves, but it is in Him: the one who is good, loving, and faithful, the one who sent His own Son to rescue us. Our verse for this month says “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him.” Hoping and waiting go hand in hand. God has been so good to me in the times of waiting, not necessarily because He has brought healing to my body, but because by hoping in Him, he has brought healing to my soul. When I seek him, He is good to give me more of Himself now, and when I trust in him, he is good to give me the assurance of being in His presence for eternity. God has been so good to me and I have great hope in Him.
- Emily Grenier
