Why I’m Blessed with Gout
Posted by BryanSep 9
The past two weeks have been a frustrating battle with gout. Previous to this attack, I haven’t had a bad attack in almost two years. I have it in both ankles, and it has made walking and standing extremely painful— excruciating at first, but now I can walk, run, and jump with only a dull ache. At least I can function normally now.
A 25 year old shouldn’t be able to write that paragraph. Unfortunately, that’s the reality I’ve been dealing with these past two weeks. I’ve had gout for about 6 years now, and as I said, this is the worst its been in almost two-years. So how do I move from that to the title of this post? No, I’m not super-spiritual, and I don’t thank God for my gout when I pray. Truth be told, I have some pretty frank discussions with God about it. Well… I run my mouth off like Job, and He continues His patience with me. But, I have had time these last two weeks to reflect on gout, and I do believe, deep down, that it is a blessing. In a recent e-mail to my community group (which I’m extremely blessed to be able to lead), I gave a list of three reasons that I’m blessed with gout:
- I’m an incredibly prideful person. Not being able to walk forces me to rely on others for simple things, and shatters any sense of pride I have.
- It causes me focus on the promises of God. One day there will be a new creation—a new heavens and new earth—where we celebrate abundant life in the presence of Jesus himself. There will be no more sin, pain, death, tears, disabilities, etc for eternity. Gout sends me to Revelation 21.
- It drives me to the cross. Gout is merely a symptom of a bigger issue: our sinfulness. It is for this very sinfulness that Jesus died on the cross. Each flare-up reminds me of the reality of sin and its effects on us and our world.
I wouldn’t be upset if God decided to heal me, but as long as I continue to have gout, I pray that my thinking about it would be redeemed and that I could keep this mental list in front of me.
(Astute readers will notice the irony of one of the categories I placed this post under.)
One comment
Comment by Jason on September 9, 2009 at 11:59 pm
Dude, I know your misery. I am 32 and have had two attacks of gout in the last two years and it is one of the worst pains I have ever suffered. Thankfully, it’s been many months since the last attack, but I pray it doesn’t come back! Glad you’re past the worst of it.