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If you have ever gone through anything devastating like a serious injury, then you know how scary, painful, and hard it can be to deal with. The video below is a story that ESPN did of Azzi Fudd and how she tore her knee and her road to recovery.
Azzi Fudd is one of the best basketball players in the country and she will be a freshman for the UConn basketball team in 2021-2022. Azzi was the first sophomore to ever win the Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year award in 2019, when she averaged 26 points per game for St. Johns High School in Washington D.C.She was considered the best high school player in the
country and a generational talent, and then she tore her ACL and her MCL the
summer after her sophomore year while attending. She was driving to the basket
during the USA Basketball 3 on 3 National Championships when she tore them.
Azzi's mother said that she could see the fear in her eyes when it happened. Azzi said that she had
never had an injury like that, and she could see the pain and hurt in her mom’s
eyes having to see her go through it. Azzie was worried if she would be able to
be as good as she was before she was hurt.
Azzi’s mother said, “There is so much pain and there is so
much work and grinding that you find out who you are as a person and you find
out what you are willing to do.”
Azzi has fully recovered and is ready to take over college
basketball, but the SCARS from the injury will remain forever as a reminder of
the injury and as a reminder of everything that she went through to recover. She might not have wanted to go through this, but I am sure she learned a lot about herself through this process. Our suffering produces endurance which produces character and hope.
Nobody makes it through life without getting a few SCARS. Bad
things happen to everybody. Jesus still has his SCARS from when he was hung on the cross and pierced in the side. The resurrected Lord
still bears His SCARS, but they are part of His glory. When Jesus came back,
Thomas was not with the disciples the first time Jesus revealed himself to the
disciples, so he doubted and said, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands
and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I
will not believe (John 20:25).”
A week later his disciples were in the house again, and
Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among
them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to
Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put
it into my side. Stop doubting and believe (John 20:26-27).”
Jesus’s SCARS prove to the disciples that He was the
resurrected Messiah. Azzi went through a lot to come back from her injury, and she
has the SCARS to prove it. Through Christ, we have victory despite our SCARS.
Be eager to find ways to glorify God and focus on the good and opportunities to
find joy in everything. Don’t stay focused on the bad; find the good.
Pastor Andrew Forrest at Munger Place Church in Dallas says
that when we go through tough times ask, “How can God be used and glorified through
what is happening?” and, “What would it look like for God to be glorified
through this situation?”
Ask God to use the SCARS to strengthen you and to bring
strength and hope to those around you.
This Week
1 - Have you gone through something really difficult, survived it, and it made you stronger?
2 - How can Azzi's story help you get through something you are dealing with or something you might deal with in the future?
3 - How can the story of Jesus and his SCARS help you or inspire you?
For a Google Doc version, click here: Week 23 Devotional | SCARS
References
1 - Forrest, Andrew, hot. "How Not to Be a Victim." Munger Place Church - Dallas, Texas. Munger Place Church, 15, May 2021, https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/munger-place-church-dallas-texas/id501149943?mt=2.
2 - "Nail Prints in Jesus' Hands." Lifehouse Full Gospel Church of God, https://www.lighthousefgcog.org/2017/11/02/nail-prints-in-jesus-hands-john-2024-29/.
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