An Unexpected Source of Healing

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A New Day eDevotional
An Unexpected Source of Healing

1 Peter 1:6, “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations.” One of the things most of us find stomach churning and revolting is the maggot. Finding them in your garbage bin is enough to make the most resilient disposition “toss their cookies.” But imagine finding them on your body! In 1982 an orthopedic surgeon by the name of John Church was asked to treat someone who had been in a car accident and lain unconscious for three days in a ditch at the side of the road. The victim had deep cuts to his face and body, and those wounds were crawling with massive infestations of maggots. But here’s the amazing thing. When John Church peeled away those maggots to examine his patient he was astonished to discover that the wounds were so clean they had already begun to heal! In fact, this discovery led to a revival of the practice of maggot therapy. I know, it sounds gross, but please, stay with me. You see as revolting as they may be, maggots can be agents of healing. Put them on a wound and they’ll eat up the diseased flesh but leave the healthy flesh alone. The bacteria they don’t eat, they kill with a chemical they excrete. And to top it off, when they crawl all over your wound they provide the healthy flesh with a gentle and therapeutic massage. In fact, doctors have discovered that in many cases maggots are more effective than antibiotics! Sometimes the circumstances in our life function like maggots. They may be very unpleasant, but they can also be for healing. We often speak of them as “character forming.” They cause us to identify what’s important in life, to develop endurance and perseverance, to depend more on God and others. And in doing so they eat away the rotting parts of our character and leave behind the healthy parts. Do not despise the processes God has permitted in your life. What may seem deplorable, may actually be an agent of healing to bring about much needed restoration for you, for this and each new day.