Day 2: Rehabilitation

Psalm 40:1-3
1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
and put their trust in him.

Yesterday we shared the struggle to start the recuperation process, but today we are going to
move onto rehabilitation. Physically when we go through a traumatic medical emergency even
after healing up from the initial surgery, it can and often does take months for complete recovery.
But many of barely take the time off that is required and then when we head back to work, we hit
the ground running.

We need to take the time to recover.

Whether we are dealing with physical illness, personal tragedy, divorce, abuse, addiction or any
other of the many horrors this world can serve up, after recuperating we need time to rehabilitate.
Let’s take just a moment to define rehabilitation because at least in my mind what comes to mind
is the Betty Ford clinic or even marital counseling to bring a struggling marriage back to health.
Oxford sources define rehabilitation as follows:

Rehabilitation:
• the action of restoring someone to health or normal life through training and therapy after
imprisonment, addiction, or illness.
• the action of restoring someone to former privileges or reputation after a period of
disfavor.
• the action of restoring something that has been damaged to its former condition.

Many times when we are facing rehabilitation whether it is emotionally recovering from a
tragedy or dealing with the scourge of drug addiction or even fighting disease, injury or even
chronic pain, we find ourselves in a battle. The battle is emotional, physical and almost a
terrorism of our soul. These rehabilitation struggles affect people of all races, all religions, all
ages, and all economic levels.

These battles can seem almost impossible. But as someone who has battled this kind of battle on
several occasions, there is hope. It is with God’s help that we can take our lives back.

I remember from my preteen Sunday School Class, 1 John 4:4:
Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world.

I understand that while fighting this fight, we feel alone. But as our text for today says, he set my
feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

Millions of people around the world have experienced the joy of succeeding one day at a time by
trusting God with their life and future.

Remember, our recuperation and rehabilitation begins at the feet of Jesus.
We cry. He hears. He lifts. We walk steadily on solid ground.

Triple D: What would a time of rehabilitation look like for you?