SEE COMMENTS BELOW.
Some physical setbacks once slowed me down and caused me to do something I had never done before: take a few weeks off from work.
It was like a spring cleaning for my body. There were many trips to the doctors and imaging centers for x-rays and CT scans.
There was rest. My bed became a little too familiar during the daylight hours.
When sickness visits and decides to stay, you begin to lose your literal and figurative appetite. Food doesn’t even feel necessary. And going out for a walk, a concert, a dinner with family or friends doesn’t feel very appealing either.
But when the body puts its foot down, there is not much arguing. I simply needed a spring cleaning for my physical self.
The spiritual world is like that. Things that once produced life now feel dead. Introspection, study, prayer and time off are the equivalent to bedrest.
When our spirits get “sick,” we do well to take care of them. It may be that we let things go too long or that we were attacked by some spiritual “virus.” Whichever the case, sometimes our spirits will tell us that all of the work that needs to get done will have to wait…and waiting paradoxically becomes the new work.
PORTAL TO HEAVEN: Just as physical illness can force us to pay attention to our bodies, spiritual sickness can reveal that we are charging along on sheer willpower or fleshly strength. Spiritual bedrest can allow us to experience the bedside manner of The Great Physician. This opens up portals of healing and reassurance of his presence.
Be renewed in the spirit of your mind…Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me…Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.
Ephesians 4:23 NASB, Psalm 51:10 NASB, Isaiah 40:31 NASB
COMMENTS:
It truly is sad Bob how few people take sin seriously! Thanks for the great reminder and word this morning!
FRANK WRAY, DELMAR, NY
Spring and spring cleaning go hand in hand . Whenever I think of spring I always think of newness , birds are awake singing , buds on the tree suddenly appear , it's almost winter never existed. Time has a way of passing and with each new day something special occurs . For me , I feel lighter , no more heavy coats , shoes , etc . That's how I feel when I have my quiet moments with God I don't feel as cluttered, he seems easier to reach without that heavy stuff.
ANTOINETTE RENZI, GUILDERLAND, NY