August 21, 2023
I recently had an experience dealing with physical pain. While it seems self-indulgent to recount it, it was an adventure and had definite spiritual benefits. So this is PAIN WEEK…
#689 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
June 19, 2023 I have a stabbing, burning pain in my right shoulder blade. It only occurs when I move certain ways, but the acuteness will shock me into abject submission and immediate prayer. By God’s grace (and His sense of humor) it doesn’t affect me at all during my golf swing. Tonight I am praying and tomorrow I’m seeing a chiropractor.
August 22, 2023
Day 2 of PAIN WEEK with a touch of Golf Tuesday…
#690 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
June 26, 2023 (One week later..) The chiropractor didn’t help, and I had a knife stab in the middle of my back swing so sharp that I had to quit on the spot. I wrote earlier that God uses illness to reveal our fragility so we will depend on Him. Physical pain qualifies as illness. So the calling is clear–depend on Him. I do not know how this will play out. Generally, when I am sick my tendency is to draw away from God and everyone and curl up into myself until it is over–with occasional pleas thrown His way. Not this time. In sickness and in health, right, Lord Jesus?
August 23, 2023
PAIN WEEK disclaimer: this week’s posts are related to an injury I had almost two months ago–I am not in any pain now. (But I appreciate the prayers and cares…)
#691 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
June 27, 2023 Day 3 of pain: I’m optimistic–not because the pain is gone but because I can perceive a spiritual side to this. When I am weaker, He is stronger. Sounds simple, but it gets complex when I am trying to navigate it. I’m just so poor at suffering! Good thing the strength doesn’t come from me.
August 24, 2023
Day 4 of PAIN WEEK…
#692 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
June 28, 2023 I feel I should explain the pain. It is in my right shoulder blade area. It is random (there is no particular movement or position that exacerbates or relieves it). I would liken it to someone sticking a knife in my back and pulling it out quickly. A normal day is out of the question. So it is just me and God (and Karen, thankfully). I am sure this is an opportunity for spiritual growth because it’s beyond anything I can handle on my own.
August 25, 2023
Day 5 of PAIN WEEK…
#693 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
June 29, 2023 Feelings like “Why me?” and “I don’t deserve this” try to creep in. Absolutely no room for them. I’ve been using “..the testing of your faith produces endurance..” and ignoring “..Consider it all joy when you encounter various trials…” (James 1:2–3) God has put me in a learning, growing situation. With Him I can handle this. But I confess that I have also talked with my doctor, changed meds, scheduled and canceled a chiropractic appointment, begun doing stretches, and researched shoulder pain. I never want to limit the way God works.
August 26, 2023
Day 6–the end of PAIN WEEK!
#694 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
June 30, 2023 And it is going away. Aah. Not healed but I can tell it’s getting better. This is so like God with me–no magic trick, no miracle cure, just the knowledge that we weathered the storm. We came through it well, God and I–I would have hated to do it without Him… And this priceless lesson: I cannot trust Him too much, I cannot turn to Him too much, I cannot throw myself at Him too much. Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father.
August 27, 2023
From PAIN WEEK to Family Sunday–what a nice change!
#696 HOW GOD SPOKE TO ME TODAY
August 4, 2023 About to embark on a cross-country road trip (Seattle to Ann Arbor) with my daughter “…making the most of the time because the days are evil…” (Ephesians 5:16) That sounds foreboding, but we are driving through a fallen world. “Making the most of the time…” is the key part. My firstborn–she reaches into a depth in my heart that I don’t often explore. God has given us six days of rediscovery. Glory to God.
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