Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
Matthew 7:9
The possible diagnosis had been mentioned for months, first as an unlikely cause of the symptoms, then a remote possibility, then looming closer and closer as I went from one doctor to the next explaining the crescendo of symptoms and my firm belief that something was not right. Now it crashed over me like a wave reaching shore.
The situation sure looked an awful lot like a stone, one that was lodged in my throat and that I could hardly choke down. But God promises that the things He gives us are good for us. They are like bread, which nourishes and sustains us. They are for our growth.
That’s the thing about being a Christian. We get into situations that seem like the worst thing ever. But God. But God. Those two words are the ones that change everything. They change water into wine. They change despair into hope. They change stones into bread and death into life.
For the believer, there are times when awful things happen, things that are terrible and tragic and just suck to go through. But God. But God takes those awful things and through His power He redeems them. He changes them from a death sentence into things that give life. While it might not change the physical reality – some facts cannot be changed – God gives us hope that He will change what looks like a stone into life-giving bread. That even this part of the journey will be for our good, that He will use this to grow us in ways we can’t even imagine.
For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
John 6:33