“Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.” (Proverbs 3:7-8)
I am SO grateful to God this morning! Sorry I have been “radio-silent” the past three days; however, I come back with good news to share. Our God is still on the throne and He is actively involved in our daily lives. He still hears and answers prayer!!!
Over the course of the past months I have allowed myself to wander off the path of God’s direction for my life – especially as touching my health. As secular people would say “I have gotten in my head.” Apparently we can allow ourselves to say we have put things behind us – the old forgiven/forgotten practice, etc – when, in fact, all we did was bury them deep inside where they fester and reappear in other ways in our lives. Such has been my case it would seem. No one is exempt from this and none of us are special. Remember where it says in scripture, “There has no temptation taken you but such is common to man…” (I Corinthians 10:13)? I am no different than you, and we are nothing special aside from every other Christian we meet. It was only recently during a medical exam that I found out just how true this is. I won’t go into great detail but I will say that once I got my eyes back on the LORD, departed from the evil ways upon which I had embarked, and endured the discipline of God in my life that I can boldly declare what I did in the opening lines of this devotion. God is still good. He forgives. He heals. And He raises back up those who turn to Him and open themselves up to Him.
One night last week, after abandoning my old/new ways, and after considerable prayer concerning the condition of my health, I felt the power of God go through my body in a very tangible and powerful way. There are nights when I can’t sleep well (last night being one of them) and then there are other nights when God will awaken me to pray, study, or just spend time with Him. This particular night, however, I could feel Him working in my body. Unlike surgery this was more of an electrifying, warm power that touched my insides very distinctly. I remember it well. I can’t say I remember another time when I felt it so strongly. It was like someone’s hands were inside me – literally touching each part. Weird. But how awesome! These past three days I was scheduled at the VA hospital for followup MRI’s and scans to determine the course of treatment prior to my looming brain surgery. Hallelujah to the Lamb! My scans showed little to no damage when compared to the ones from just a couple of weeks ago! My insides are restored to their previous healthy condition (for a man my age) and I now await the word that my brain surgery no longer needs to happen because that, too, has been healed.
So, other than being another old person talking about my health conditions, why do I share this with you? Because God is no respecter of persons – if He did this for me, He SHALL do it for you! A few devotions back I shared how God commands His blessing upon us – as a matter of fact, that seems to be the underlying theme for most of the devotions I share. I am most blessed to be back at the very church where I witnessed my first supernatural healing of older gentleman in our church when I was but a child of five or so years old. I am blessed to be surrounded by strong, believing Christians who have stood with me in prayer. I am blessed to have a good circle of friends around me who have spoken good words of encouragement into my life. But most of all, I am MOST blessed to have a God with Whom I am in direct contact with on a daily basis. When I was young God seemed so far away. He was wayyyy up there in heaven and I was down here on earth just pounding it out on my own. And yet, as the old Pentecostals used to say, He is right here – closer than my right arm. Hallelujah! Sometimes we all need a reminder of that.
We all get caught up in the rat race of life. We have jobs to go to, bills to pay, children to raise, etc, etc. It is easy to leave God behind until we need Him. And yet I find we need Him every hour, every minute, every day. He cares deeply for us and about those things we face. He wants to go to work with you, He wants to ride in the car with you, He wants to sit and visit with you in your living room or office. You carry His Holy Spirit within you as a child of His. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Just as you wouldn’t purposely destroy your home (or allow anyone else to, for that matter), guard your temple. Treat it with respect. Practice good and godly habits in your life. Most of all, pursue after God with all your heart and allow Him to direct your steps. He will grant you peace, joy, and health all your days.
I challenge you today, my friend, to begin seeking God’s face and listening for His voice. He speaks to His children all the time – it’s just that we get too busy to hear Him. Slow down a fraction from the frenzied agenda of busy-ness and allow yourself to fall back to God’s position. He’s not slow – it’s just that we run ahead of Him so often. This little trial I have gone through has shown me that I, too, fall prey to this tactic of the enemy. As with Jacob when he returned home and faced his brother, Esau, we must learn the pace of our life. Jacob wouldn’t try to keep up with his brother’s pace because the little ones couldn’t bear the stress; instead, he sent his brother on ahead with the assurance he would soon arrive. Let the world burn itself out trying to chase whatever. We have One Who goes before us, clearing out the distractions and barriers that stand in our way. Let the Joneses enjoy their trinkets for their trinkets will burn in the fires of judgment. We have rewards that will stand the test of time and that we can offer back to our Father in heaven. Meanwhile we get to enjoy His goodness and sweetness in our lives here and now.
Be blessed.
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