Day 173

Ecclesiastes 10–12 | 2 Corinthians 12–13 | Psalm 73

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Some verses explain grace. Others embody it.

Today’s reading gave me one of the latter.

“Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.” —Psalm 73:23

That’s not an explanation. It’s a picture.

And it’s the most honest one I can give right now.

Because that’s been my story these past eight months.

Not a story of strength or strategy or even sanctification.

But one of being held.

Held through the ache.

Held through the infection.

Held through the fear I didn’t want to admit—and the prayers I didn’t know how to pray.

Held when I thought I might end up in a hospital bed again.

Held when I sat waiting for the surgeon’s verdict, not knowing what words he’d bring.

Because grace isn’t just a doctrine.

It’s the hand that doesn’t let go of yours—even when yours goes limp.

Only God Could Write It This Way

I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: I couldn’t make this stuff up if I tried.

Because yesterday—after a brutal week of setbacks, swelling, and spiraling—I walked into my surgeon’s office fearing the worst. And walked out stunned by the best.

The infection? Gone.

The cellulitis? Already retreating.

The stitches? Still holding.

The path forward? Still intact.

No debridement. No new incisions. No hospital bed.

Just antibiotics. Just grace. Just rest—before therapy ramps back up.

And here’s the wild part.

Yesterday—the exact day of that good report—was the day my Bible reading plan landed me in Ecclesiastes 9:7:

“Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.”

Yesterday—the very day I raised a glass with my wife and daughter and toasted to answered prayer, progress, and the scar-stitching grace of God—was the very day God had already planned for me to celebrate in His Word.

Only He could orchestrate that.

And today? He doubles down with Psalm 73.

As if to say:

That hand you were worried about?

I’m the One holding it. I always have been.

When Strength Isn’t the Point

In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul begs God to remove the thorn in his flesh.

Three times. Three pleadings.

And what does he hear?

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

Paul doesn’t get deliverance. He gets dependence.

He doesn’t get escape. He gets endurance.

But the result?

Boasting—not in strength, but in the God who sustains him when all strength is gone.

That’s the pattern I’m starting to see:

God doesn’t always heal when I want. He doesn’t always answer how I expect. He doesn’t always remove the ache. But He always holds me.

Through every suture.

Through every bandage.

Through every night I wake up in pain and every morning I want to quit.

And if I can say anything after 173 days on this journey, it’s this:

Grace isn’t just a concept I cling to.

It’s the grip that never lets me go.

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Lord, thank You for Your grace that holds me when I can’t hold onto You. For hands that bind my wounds—and refuse to let go. Thank You for aligning Scripture with my steps in ways only You could orchestrate. Make me strong—not in myself, but in Your sovereignty. Amen.