A couple of mornings ago, I moved my foot from the rim of our clawfoot tub back to the floor, and that simple, usual, lotion-applying movement turned me into a temporary invalid. When it’s absolutely necessary for me to move, I find myself doing the Tim Conway Old Man shuffle, if you remember that character from the Carol Burnett Show. I’m improving, thankfully, but it’s certainly going more slowly than I’d like.

Considering God’s sovereignty, what’s the purpose in this period of immobility? It comes at a most inconvenient time. It increases my husband’s workload. It hurts! The simple fact is, I don’t know. Isn’t that often the case? The ordinary circumstances of life that befall each of us are inconvenient, painful, annoying and appear to be little more than a huge nuisance. The thing that makes that untrue is the wonderful sovereignty of God. Whatever the specific purpose is, this I know: ultimately it is meant to make me more thankful for Jesus’ suffering work on the Cross, and it meant to make me more closely resemble Him. The truth that God is sovereign even over my aching back is comforting, and gives me courage to submit to His work in me during this time.

I’m not able to be on the computer much, but I have just finished reading Jerry Bridges’ new book, “Respectable Sins.” Could it be that that’s the purpose in this? Hmm.