The Chronicles of a Toothless Man

Today, inspiration has hit me once again and the feeling is fresh and invigorating! The Lord has been setting the stage for the past week and has finally brought main act to fruition in the past 24 hours. While I’m sure many more lessons will be learned just from the following circumstances, it has become abundantly clear what the Lord has wanted to say to me now. It’s not that He wasn’t saying it before, it’s just that I haven’t been listening. My mom always told me growing up that I had selective hearing. This is obviously no exception. The LORD has a startling, yet gracious way of opening our eyes, ears, hearts and mind when He wants to speak.

The opening act began last Tuesday. The stage was the work break room. The drama was a comedy for most and a tragedy for me. I’m minding my own business, eating my Harris Teeter Tuesday $2.50 sub and enjoying every bit of it. The next thing I know, I hear a pop and I feel something gritty in the sandwich. I finish my bite and I realize my number 8 central incisor tooth (That’s the front tooth) is no longer fixed like it used to be. I didn’t have to be a dentist to realize that my tooth had broken. I would find out later from the surgeon that I must have hit my tooth sometime and it got a minor fracture in it that I never noticed. It just happened to be on that day in that sandwich that my tooth would choose to give up on life and commit tooth suicide. Due to the uncomfortableness of the dangling tooth and inability to sthpeak normally, I chosthe to go home.

I spent the next two days going back and forth between the dentist and oral surgeon. The general consensus is that I need to have what bit of tooth remained removed and get an implant put in its place. Then I was told the price. I was floored. I thought there was no way I could afford it. The rest of my time over these few days were spent at home feeling depressed and pouting. By the weekend, I started to hear a whisper of the Lord speaking and showing me my pride. I won’t go in public because I’m worried someone might mistaken me for a front row guest at a Willie Nelson concert in KY. I’m consumed with how I will pay for such an expensive procedure. Not just that, but I was consumed with
irritation because I will not be able to afford to do all the things that I wanted to do this summer. As I started to hear the Lord speak to me, I starting thinking and told a friend of mine that it’s funny how it’s easy to trust the Lord when I’ve got nothing practical to trust him for. But, come Hell or high water, forget Jesus. I’m looking for a fire extinguisher and a life raft.

By Sunday, I’ve started to see that I need to trust the Lord to provide and to believe that He would. I started feeling a lot more comfortable around people. The people whose opinions mattered most to me were reassuring me that the understood that it was an accident and not bad hygiene. They all did what they could do to assure me that it wasn’t that bad. Some where unconventional, like Les. He cracked jokes. But, I know Les and that’s his way. He really is a good friend. I approached one of my friends during our hand shaking time that night at church. He asked me what happened and since we have about 30 seconds, I gave him a brief “woe is me” and was ready to move on. He mentioned something about some medical tests of his own, but since I was still so self-absorbed, I didn’t think anything more of it. There was no room for his little problems and my life altering dilemma. So one of them had to go. I think you know what happened.

The next scene is on Wednesday. I called up my surgeon’s office to see when they could get me in. Seeing as, in my mind, I was his most important priority (It’s my front tooth! This is an emergency!), I figured he’d have me in the next day, Friday at the very latest. So I ask, “When is the soonest you can get me in?” The receptionist replies, “Next Thursday. I wish you would have called earlier! I would have been able to fit you in today.” I hold my composure for the rest of the call. Once it ended, oh boy!

Anyone who would have seen or heard me for the next hour or so after that would have thought that I had Tourette’s. I was furious. It was a total injustice that I should have to wait more than another week to have my smile fixed. I was convinced that I was an emergency case and that I deserved to be treated in a more timely manor. At the time, I didn’t realize how ridiculous this sounded. Sure, it’s embarrassing to have to walk around without all my teeth. Sure, it’s an inconvenience. But it didn’t warrant the any of my behavior. But, again, I didn’t see that the Lord was just setting the stage (Let me interject, He was not setting me up. He was setting the stage) to learn something bigger.

One more thing needed to be added to give the climactic scene its final touches. Monday, I got my W2 and saw that it was off, and not by just a few dollars. It was off by a lot. I called this friend to get some advise from him about it (and to vent... again, woe is me). He was quite understanding about it. Then he asked me to tell him more about my tooth. He genuinely wanted to know how things were going. He knew it was frustrating for me. That was all I needed to hand out a little more “woe is me”.

Now it was set. The stage was ready. Last night I came home from work still sulking about my horrible woes. Shortly after I got home, I was told that this same friend I spoke to on Sunday and Monday had cancer. I was blown away. He can’t get cancer. He’s too good of a guy! This is another misconception I have of God. I am fooled into thinking that these things happen because God is punishing us for something we did wrong. I was horribly wrong! Had I already forgotten the Gospel? Had I forgotten that every ounce of punishment, wrath and vengeance for my sin was placed on Christ when He died on the cross?

Throughout today I have had more than enough opportunity to think about the past week’s events. The scales started to fall from my eyes and I began to see how foolish I had been acting. I have been acting like the world was coming to an end and I expected everyone to feel the same way. What I should have seen was, it’s just a stupid tooth. I can always get a fake one. It’s just another week. It’s not that big of a deal! So my W2 was wrong. I can get a fixed copy! What blows me away is that it took something as big as my friend getting cancer for me to realize how self-absorbed, prideful and arrogant I had been behaving.

Not only did the Lord use the circumstances to show me the error of my way, but used my friend’s testimony as well. This was of special interest to me. When I was unloading all of my self-absorbed woe on him, he knew that he had cancer yet he was genuinely interested in what was happening with me. I was too busy, however, to even remember that he was going through something. What’s more, he wasn’t going on about the injustice and the inconvenience of his current situation.

He had already started to get the big picture. Since I have known him, I can honestly say he has probably taught, encouraged and rebuked me more than anyone else I know. This was no exception. He already seen that the Lord was working. This was not an act of a sadistic god who did this to punish him. Rather, this was the act of a loving God who allowed this to draw him closer to Him. I was reminded of a song by John Newton that I have prayed in times past, I Asked The Lord.

1. I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith and love and every grace
Might more of His salvation know
And seek more earnestly His face

2. Twas He who taught me thus to pray
And He I trust has answered prayer
But it has been in such a way
As almost drove me to despair

3. I hoped that in some favored hour
At once He'd answer my request
And by His love's constraining power
Subdue my sins and give me rest

4. Instead of this He made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart
And let the angry powers of Hell
Assault my soul in every part

5. Yea more with His own hand He seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Cast out my feelings, laid me low

6. Lord why is this, I trembling cried
Wilt Thou pursue thy worm to death?
"Tis in this way" The Lord replied
"I answer prayer for grace and faith"

7. "These inward trials I employ
From self and pride to set thee free
And break thy schemes of earthly joy
That thou mayest seek thy all in me,
That thou mayest seek thy all in me.

This could easily be mistaken for a story of people overcoming their trials. This could not be further from the truth. Rather, on the surface, it is a story of people being shown the goodness, the mercy and the grace of the Lord of Hosts. On the surface, it is a story of a man being swallowed up in his own selfishness and pride and being rescued by the sovereign working of the almighty God. On the surface, it is the story of a man having his faith tried so he would be drawn to the tender, loving arms of the Heavenly Father. Ultimately, it is a story that has nothing to do with a guy without a tooth or even a guy with cancer. It is an amazing story of the almighty God performing His sovereign will through man for His ultimate glory.