Years ago, I received a troubling diagnosis.  Proliferative Retinopathy sounds fancy, but it could lead to blindness if left untreated.  The good news came in the hope of laser surgery.  I went to a specialist eye doctor who instructed me on the type of surgery.

“We will use numbing drops on your eye.  Then, we will inject local anesthesia.  You won’t feel the lasers during the surgery.”

“But I’ll be awake?”

“Yes.  You have to be awake for us to inject the anesthesia.”

“So, I’ll get a needle in my eye?”

I was just as horrified as you probably are reading this.  I had avoided stepping on cracks my whole life so that I wouldn’t get a needle in my eye. So, I set off on a mission to pray for healing.  God can remove the disease and the need for me to get a needle in my eye.

No such luck.  I had to face the needle, and it was as bad as I thought it would be.  God was with me through it all.  The whole thing reminds me of the book of Deuteronomy.  Moses retells the history of the Exodus and the purpose of the journey to the people.  In my Bible study group, we all asked why. Why retell the story?

Courage.

“Hear, Israel: You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky.  The people are strong and tall – Anakites!” (Deuteronomy 9:1-2)

God sent them into a promised land of giants.  The giants lived there comfortably in tall cities with strong walls.  They probably thought it would be like moving into a new home in the suburbs—an empty slate with new appliances and clean bathrooms.

“Be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire.  He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you and you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly” (Deuteronomy 9:3 emphasis added.)

The people still had to slay the giants.  Instead of the beautiful new, clean, empty home, the people were moving into a house occupied by giants.  The giants might have been afraid of them, but the people still needed to “annihilate them quickly.”  A frightened giant is scarier than a sleeping giant.  God knew that the people would be terrified; just like He knew that needle terrified me.

I’ve had to endure multiple laser surgeries on both of my eyes.  The Lord has brought me healing and restored my sight, but I had to face that needle in the first surgery.  The other surgeries weren’t nearly as frightening as the first.  With each success, courage grew within me.

A new year often brings new opportunities.  Promised lands.  The land flowing with milk and honey is probably occupied.  To claim the promise, we will have to slay the giants. This means doing difficult, scary things.  God knows it’s scary, and He won’t make it any less scary.  He also won’t leave you alone to fight them by yourself. Take courage.  The Lord will go before you and pave the way.  The best advice we get from scripture is this: “Annihilate them quickly.”

The shot in my eye terrified me.  It was also the most painful thing, I’ve ever encountered.  I remember being so upset with God for making me go through it.  I also remember feeling the presence of God closer to me than ever before.  I knew he was with me.  The anesthesia prevented me from seeing the other people in the room.   Everything was blurry and dark until I saw flashes of light (Read Ezekiel 1:13-14.) I thought the lights were the lasers until the doctor announced, “Ok. Let’s get started. You might feel a little pressure.”  

I know that God was with me in the surgery, and, afterward, I got a new doctor.  He had more powerful lasers, and I never saw another shot in the eye.  The first battle was the worst, but I gained the courage to keep going. I have had to undergo at least 5 similar laser procedures and 2 major surgeries in both my eyes.  God kept His promise and answered my prayers.  He restored my vision and has never left me.