Sports injuries point a Welch College graduate to God’s will...

Brought to My Knees

by Jake Manning

“You tore your ACL.” Four words an athlete never wants to hear. As a high school senior, I dreamed of leading my team to a basketball state championship. The dream shattered, however, when I landed awkwardly after a layup during the first game of the season. Two days later, I got the news I had torn my ACL. I spent my senior year on the bench keeping stats. Four years later, as a college senior, it happened again.

Senior Again, Same Injury

I played basketball three years for the Welch College Flames. Coming into my senior season, I had high expectations. Once again, I dreamed of leading my team to a regional championship. During a casual pickup game, I stole the ball and cut down the lane. Before I got the shot up, I collapsed to the ground in agony, once again holding my left knee. "Not again. Please, not again," I thought to myself.

My teammates immediately ran to me. “Jake, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Just pray,” I told them. “Just pray.”

My teammates circled around and prayed that my knee would be okay, but I had felt this pain before. Two days later, I sat in the doctor’s office with my coach and found myself reliving a nightmare. “I’m sorry,” said the doctor, “but you have torn your ACL. I assume you will want to have surgery?” And then the painful reminder, “Standard ACL rehab takes seven to nine months.”

I sat in stunned disbelief. This was my year. All summer I had prepared tirelessly for my last season of basketball. And in one moment, all the hard work had been washed down the drain. I fought back tears.

When I tore my right ACL in high school, it happened for a reason. God was trying to get my attention. I was putting many things before my relationship with God—relationships, popularity, especially sports. Tearing my ACL was a wake-up call. Looking back, it was the best thing that could have happened to me.

What about this time? After I returned from the doctor’s office, I lay down in my dorm room, hoping to wake up and discover it had just been a bad dream.

"What are you trying to teach me, God? Why am I going through this again?"

Lessons From Job

I turned to the Bible for answers. If anyone had the right to question God it was Job. He was a wealthy man with a beautiful family. Then, in a short period of time, Job lost his money, his family, his house, and his health. His own wife told him to curse God and die. His friends determined he needed to repent of sin that must have caused his tragedies. Through it all, Job declared himself innocent, and he claimed integrity. Again and again he called on God to make Himself known.

When God came to him, He asked Job to consider the beauty, wonder, and order of creation—the seas and oceans, the sun, life and death, the rain, the seasons, the clouds, the animals. Then, in chapter 40, God told him, “Job, you cannot make any of these things. I have creative power. I have sustaining power. I have absolute power, and you want to question me? Can you do what I have done? Can you manage what I have created? Can you contend with the Almighty?”

Surrender to God’s Will

What was Job’s response? He covered his mouth in a gesture of submission. Job didn’t know why he was going through hardships (and he was never told), but he knew the One who did know—the One who holds the whole world in His hands.

As I read Job’s story, I realized I didn’t need to know the answers to my questions. I simply needed to follow Job’s example and trust God’s sovereignty. Like Job, I needed to submit and surrender my life to His will. So that’s what I did.

Was it hard going to practices and sitting on the sideline feeling like I was no help at all? Yes. Did I want to be out there on the court fighting to win with my teammates? Yes. But, was I at peace with the situation? Yes. I knew God had a plan.

Fast-forward Three Months

I went to the doctor for my normal check-up. On the previous visit, the doctor told me that my knee was still abnormally swollen. Consequently, he told me I had to stay off of it for three days and keep it elevated, or my knee would have to be drained.

I followed the doctor’s orders and took it easy, but my knee remained swollen. In my mind, I expected at least a two-week setback in my recovery. The doctor came in to look at my knee. Go ahead. Just drain it, I thought. Get that mammoth needle out!

“Well, Jake,” the surgeon said, “Your knee is looking great! I know we originally were shooting for a seven-month recovery time, but you’re way ahead of schedule. In fact, there is a slight possibility that I may release you in six weeks.”

My mouth dropped.

“You weren’t expecting to play ball this year were you?”

“I didn’t think that was an option”

“Well, it would be an incredible recovery if I released you in six weeks, but…”

“But there is a chance?”

“With the way your knee is looking so far…yes, there is a slight chance.”

That’s all I had to hear. I had a chance to come back and play ball. And my next appointment happened to be three days before Senior Night. I went to the gym after leaving the doctor’s office, sat on the floor, and began praying.

Lord, it’s in Your hands. I want to play so bad. However, if You don’t want me to, then I am okay with that. But if You do clear me, I will give You all the glory. I promise to let it be known that only by Your grace am I able to come back.

Six weeks passed, and the day finally came. “Jake,” the doctor said, “your knee looks great. There’s no need for you to come back. I know it has only been four and a half months, but I am going to go ahead and release you. You have made an excellent recovery. Do you have any questions?”

Somehow, I maintained my composure. “I do have a question, sir. How do you feel about me playing this Friday for Senior Night?” I knew what he was going to say.

“I know you would love to play,” the doctor said sympathetically, “but it’s going to be really hard to go from 0 to 60 in just three days. The chances of you getting hurt again are high. If it were three weeks from now, I might say yes, but it’s just too big a risk for me to tell you to play. However, it’s ultimately up to you. You know your knee better than I do.”

I thought to myself, I may know my knee better than you, but I also know that God has just given me the okay to play ball. I left the doctor’s office with a huge smile on my face. When I got to my car, I sat in the parking garage praying. “God, You are so good. Thank you for giving me another chance.”

I’d love to say I scored 40 points and hit a buzzer beater to win the game that Friday night…but I didn’t. I was out of shape, my shot was off, and we lost. But I played. I got to be out there with my team. I got to start on Senior Night.

God’s Explanation and Your Choice

I’m still not completely sure why I tore my ACL. Maybe God wanted me to realize once again that my relationship with Him was far more important than basketball or anything else. Maybe it was for the very thing I am doing now, telling this story so He may be glorified. Maybe you needed to read my story because you are also going through some kind of trial and asking God “why?”

I may not understand, but I do know this: we serve the God who holds the world in His hands. He had my torn ACL in His hands, and He holds your problem as well.

The choice is yours. Today, in the midst of your trial, you can either turn away from God or you can turn to Him. Perhaps you need to stop asking God “why?” and start asking “what?” God might be trying to tell or show you something.

As Laura Story said in her song: “What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?”

About the Writer: Jake Manning graduated Suma Cum Laude from Welch College in May 2014 with a Bachelor’s degree in Pastoral Ministries. The Greenville, North Carolina, native was named Most Outstanding Student at Welch College.