Test Results

I took my troubles to the LORD; I cried out to Him, and He answered my prayer.

Psalm 120:1 (NLT)

For nearly my entire life, I had pain in my gut. Sometimes it wasn’t too bad. Other times I’d wake up in pain during the middle of the night. Then, of course, there were the countless bathroom visits which were the end result. They weren’t pleasant either. I saw many doctors over the years who suggested many things which were causing it. They said I wasn’t drinking enough water, eating enough fiber, was stressed, and a few dozen other theories. None of the tests they ran showed anything wrong, even with a colonoscopy. I ended up on different drugs over the years, the last of which doubled my pain. It also didn’t work.

So, with the advent of the Internet, I began doing my own research to figure out what was wrong. Here’s what I’ve learned – don’t look up your symptoms on the Internet. You’ll find out that you have several hundred horrible diseases and probably will die within a few seconds. It’s disturbing really. But, I was sure that I had some form of pancreatitis (an inflammation of the pancreas). I told my doctor as such. She didn’t believe me. So, I started praying for a doctor who would treat my pancreatitis. No one did. I asked God to fix my pancreatitis. He didn’t.

I got so frustrated I finally yelled at God, telling Him to please fix this problem. Shortly after, my doctor did something no other doctor would do – she ordered a test to check my gallbladder. I didn’t hold out too much hope, since this wasn’t testing my pancreas. But, the test results told me something about myself that no one could know except God. My gallbladder had been malformed since birth. It had been malfunctioning since I was a kid. So, at the age of 43, my gallbladder was removed, and I finally had relief.

Often times, when we pray, we tell God how to fix the issue we’re facing. We know what needs to be done, so we tell Him how to do it. But, that’s not how this works. God can see things we can’t. He knows things we don’t. His wisdom is far beyond anything we could imagine. So, instead of telling Him how to answer our prayers, simply ask for His help, and follow His lead. God has the solution; we simply need to ask.