IT HURTS
I fell on the ice in the parking lot of the store where I work 2 weeks ago. It could have been much worse. I scraped my face on the cement & sprained an ankle. At the time, I was not sure if I had broken my nose or my leg. Praise the Lord, that did not happen! My face is basically healed (make up covers it nicely). My leg and ankle are gradually healing. Many of my friends were amazed that nothing was broken considering how bad I looked. I told them that God had gifted me with strong bones and a body that heals quickly since he also gave me the ability to be a clutz. :-)
The Lord has used this as a good illustration of what He means in I Corinthians 12 where He talks about the church (saved people) being one body. In verse 26 our Heavenly Father says "And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it." Most of us that have been Christians for a few years have heard or read this verse. But, have we ever truly applied it?
During the past two weeks I have been living it! :-) As I limped around on my swollen foot, I discovered that this was not the only part of my body that was hurting. My back started aching, then the opposite leg started to hurt almost worse then the injured leg. All because I was attempting to move in a different way to protect my ailing foot. It was not just one part of my body that hurt. By evening it felt like everything was hurting. I was exhausted from dealing with the constant pain!
This is what often happens in churches. One person gets their feelings hurt, or they are experiencing troubles at home, work, or personally. Instead of allowing God to handle the problem and give them victory, they often walk around with a depressed look on their face so that others will notice and wonder what is wrong. Even worse, is when they start spreading their discontent among their brothers and sisters in the church. Depression & discontentment are like a cancer that starts small and can spread quickly to infect the whole body. At first you don't even realize it is there but, before you know it, it has spread and the doctor is suggesting radical surgery. The pain of these problems often causes others in the church to feel like I did at the end of day; exhausted and tired of trying to fix the wound. Many just throw up their hands and leave to find a church where every one seems to be happy.
As I talk to friends in churches across the nation I hear the same story repeated. Christians are quenching the Holy Spirit and allowing pride and selfishness to enter into their lives until it spills over into the church. Before they realize what has happened the sin has grown and another good church is shattered because one or two people had a problem that they refused to work out in a Biblical manner. We need to memorize Galatians 5:13-16 that we might be reminded to walk in the Spirit, asking God to help us have the right attitude toward our problems and disappointments.
Let me note here that it is not wrong to ask others to pray for you in your struggles but it is wrong to refuse to obey the Lord in his commandment to "rejoice evermore". We can allow ourselves to be depressed and drag others down with us or we can choose to obey the Lord and overcome our problems with a joyful attitude. Just as a bad attitude spreads like a cancer a joyful attitude can heal & encourage those lives that it touches.
I Thessalonians 5:16-19 tells us how to handle our problems, "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit." Do you want to know God's will for your life? Read these verses and ask the Lord to help you obey his commands.
May we learn to live joyfully, spreading God's love as a healing salve on the wounds of those that are hurting around us.
The Lord has used this as a good illustration of what He means in I Corinthians 12 where He talks about the church (saved people) being one body. In verse 26 our Heavenly Father says "And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it." Most of us that have been Christians for a few years have heard or read this verse. But, have we ever truly applied it?
During the past two weeks I have been living it! :-) As I limped around on my swollen foot, I discovered that this was not the only part of my body that was hurting. My back started aching, then the opposite leg started to hurt almost worse then the injured leg. All because I was attempting to move in a different way to protect my ailing foot. It was not just one part of my body that hurt. By evening it felt like everything was hurting. I was exhausted from dealing with the constant pain!
This is what often happens in churches. One person gets their feelings hurt, or they are experiencing troubles at home, work, or personally. Instead of allowing God to handle the problem and give them victory, they often walk around with a depressed look on their face so that others will notice and wonder what is wrong. Even worse, is when they start spreading their discontent among their brothers and sisters in the church. Depression & discontentment are like a cancer that starts small and can spread quickly to infect the whole body. At first you don't even realize it is there but, before you know it, it has spread and the doctor is suggesting radical surgery. The pain of these problems often causes others in the church to feel like I did at the end of day; exhausted and tired of trying to fix the wound. Many just throw up their hands and leave to find a church where every one seems to be happy.
As I talk to friends in churches across the nation I hear the same story repeated. Christians are quenching the Holy Spirit and allowing pride and selfishness to enter into their lives until it spills over into the church. Before they realize what has happened the sin has grown and another good church is shattered because one or two people had a problem that they refused to work out in a Biblical manner. We need to memorize Galatians 5:13-16 that we might be reminded to walk in the Spirit, asking God to help us have the right attitude toward our problems and disappointments.
Let me note here that it is not wrong to ask others to pray for you in your struggles but it is wrong to refuse to obey the Lord in his commandment to "rejoice evermore". We can allow ourselves to be depressed and drag others down with us or we can choose to obey the Lord and overcome our problems with a joyful attitude. Just as a bad attitude spreads like a cancer a joyful attitude can heal & encourage those lives that it touches.
I Thessalonians 5:16-19 tells us how to handle our problems, "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit." Do you want to know God's will for your life? Read these verses and ask the Lord to help you obey his commands.
May we learn to live joyfully, spreading God's love as a healing salve on the wounds of those that are hurting around us.
