Healing That Walks with a Limp

In February 1949, golfer Ben Hogan's car collided head-on with a Greyhound bus on a foggy Texas highway. His pelvis was fractured in two places. His collarbone, ankle, and a rib were broken. Blood clots nearly killed him. For two months he lay in a hospital bed while the golf world moved on without him. Doctors wondered whether he would ever walk again.

Sixteen months later, Hogan entered the 1950 U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club outside Philadelphia. His legs, still wrapped in bandages, ached with every step of the course. On the final day, the format required thirty-six holes. By the back nine of the afternoon round, he could barely stand. But he kept walking, forced a three-way playoff, and won it.

Here is what strikes me most: Hogan's healing was real, but it was not complete. His legs hurt him for the rest of his career. He never again played a full tournament schedule. Yet after the accident, he became arguably the greatest ball-striker the game has ever seen. The pain stayed. The greatness deepened.

This is often how the Almighty heals. He does not always erase the wound. Sometimes He redeems it. The limp remains, but underneath it is a strength you never had before. Paul understood this when he heard the Lord say, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness."

Your deepest wound may become the very place where God's power shows up most clearly.