I want to kick off this blog with the “punchline,” if you will. In order to defy the diagnosis, you have to define the diagnosis. I know that a catchy sentence doesn’t solve all of your problems, but I wholeheartedly believe that the aforementioned statement will be hugely transformational for you.
The definition of the word define is to “state or describe exactly the nature, scope, or meaning of.” When articulated this way, the action in and of itself seems far more elaborate than I ever cared to consider. As a quick refresher, I think of a diagnosis as any worldly label that contradicts your identity in Christ. That said, I believe the first step to living a life surrendered to Jesus instead of your diagnosis is to begin understanding said diagnosis in its entirety. Allow me to illustrate this in a more practical way:
I study the creativity of and am inspired by many drummers better than myself. One of the guys I deeply admire is named Paul Mabury. He’s an incredible musician and brings an unparalleled excellence through passion to the craft. I often find myself watching YouTube and Instagram videos for hours on end, analyzing and appreciating all that he does and how he does it. However, if I were to see him in public and start a conversation by asking about his kids or saying how I can name every record he’s ever played on, it’d probably result in a relationship ending before it began. I don’t know Paul simply because I follow him on social media. Similarly, I don’t know God simply because I’ve read the Bible a hundred times or have listened to a bunch of podcasts. I know God because of the beautiful relationship that we have, which is the same kind of relationship that He offers to everyone. This level of knowledge and understanding is crucial to the interpretation of diagnoses. Opening a mental investigation into how and why your diagnosis has affected you and/or others will definitely lead to breakthrough and clarity. However, this is only possible through prayer and allowing the Lord to replace the lies that you’ve believed about yourself with His truth.
Now imagine that the doctors hadn’t told my parents about my butterfly C7 spinal anomaly. There might have been a reality where I was playing football and one day, an intense game caused another player to tackle me. Chances are that I could’ve been paralyzed for the rest of my life, or worse. That diagnosis was vital and has prevented me from foolishly putting myself in harm’s way. As I mentioned in a past blog, being a young boy who didn’t care about sports was tough. But it wasn’t until recently that the Holy Spirit revealed to me the function of that specific diagnosis. It served as fuel for my true passion but also protection from danger. How do I realistically defy that diagnosis, though? I trust in my life call. I trust in the God who intentionally birthed in me a love for music instead of sports. And I trust that He will walk with me through the process of learning to define my diagnoses, so that I’ll be able to live in the freedom and joy of who He has called me to be.