For I am the Lord who heals you.
(Exodus 15:26 NKJV)
I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.
(Joel 2:25 ESV)
Almost two years ago, one of my sons—now sixteen—began complaining of knee pain. We took him to an orthopedic specialist, who didn’t see anything on the initial X-rays but ordered an MRI just to be safe. Before we could even schedule the MRI, my son was rushed to the regional children’s hospital for what turned out to be emergency surgery. He had a condition called SCFE—Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis—which is the technical term for when the ball of the femur breaks off the growth plate at the top of the thigh bone.
The surgery reattached the bone, but left his hip joint locked in a limited position within the pelvis.
Since then, he’s gone through recovery, physical therapy, and many days of limping, soreness, and discomfort. Eventually, we sought a second opinion to explore whether anything more could be done to improve his mobility, reduce pain, and help him walk normally again.
Early this morning, we meet with a surgeon who specializes in hip preservation surgery. This next procedure will involve re-breaking and realigning the bone to restore proper joint function and reduce the long-term risks of arthritis or early hip replacement. Our hope—and our goal—is to improve his overall quality of life.
This decision hasn’t come lightly. It’s a major surgery. He’ll need to be non-weight-bearing for 4 to 8 weeks, followed by more physical therapy and a long recovery process. For the past two years, we’ve been praying for him, along with many others. My specific prayer has always been that his hip would be restored.
Walking out of the doctor’s office with a sense of peace made me realize: maybe that restoration will come through surgery.
Do I believe God could heal him instantaneously and completely? Yes, and I’ve been praying for that too. But does choosing surgery mean I’m being impatient or lacking faith? I don’t think so. Sometimes, miracles come through the skill and knowledge God gives to people—like pediatric orthopedic surgeons.
That doesn’t make God any less capable of working supernaturally. I still believe in miracles because I’ve seen them. Why God didn’t choose to heal my son in that way, I don’t know. There are mysteries in God I can’t explain. But I continue to lean into faith, trusting that God can use many different means to bring about healing and restoration.
More than anything, I want to see my son restored—to a full, rich, pain-free life.
Would you join our family in prayer for him today? We would be so grateful.
Jehova Rapha,
Thank you, Lord, that you hear every prayer we bring to you, and that your heart—full of love—desires healing for all our sicknesses and infirmities. Thank you that healing sometimes comes through the power of your Word and your Spirit. And thank you also for the gift of healing through medical professionals.
Today, we pray in the name of Jesus for my son. We ask that his hip would be fully restored—regaining complete mobility, flexibility, and range of motion—without any pain. If you choose not to heal him in an immediate, miraculous way, we ask that you would work through the medical community to bring about his recovery.
Grant us wisdom, discernment, and clarity as we make decisions for his care. Use this injury and any surgery as an opportunity to draw hearts toward you. And we ask that you would restore him to full health, so that his life may be fruitful, fulfilling, and filled with the joy of pain-free living.
We ask all of this in Jesus’s name. AMEN.