In recent months I have been suffering from neck and back pain. Every day I take medicine to allow me to be out of pain for a few hours at a time. In an effort to figure out what is causing this I have seen a couple of kinds of doctors to get to the source of the problem. Finally, I was referred to a chiropractor after the doctors ruled out more serious possibilities.
Life is like this too, we cannot fix the spiritual and emotional problems in our life without the painful solutions, which are to face our own sinfulness, call it what it is, and seek the healing that only comes through admitting we have a problem with sin and asking Christ to cleanse us from the emotions that lead us into sin.
Sin is always driven by fleshly emotional responses to pain in our hearts, real or imagined, we tend to follow our feelings which motivates us to fall into sin. The devil uses these emotions just the same way he did with Eve in the garden.
The devil manipulated Eve to harden her spiritual and emotional heart, diminishing her ability to think rationally and logically.
He convinced Eve that she was missing out on something by obeying God. He manipulated her to distrust God and trust in her own fleshly emotional desire to experience something better than what God had offered her, or so the devil convinced her.
When we lean into our emotions, fulfilling our fleshly desires that defy God we will always take the easy way that gives momentary pleasure and fits in with the ways of the world and the devil.
2 Corinthians 4 tells us that the world is under the influence of the devil continually being twisted in the wind of emotional desire but the born again believes are under the power of the Holy Spirit, given the power to resist the devil and walk in a way that blesses God and themselves.
Just as with the painful manipulation of the muscles and bones to cause healing in our bodies we must do the painful work of facing our sinful nature, admitting our frailties to be cleansed. Without admitting guilt of our sin there can be no healing.
The more we massage our feelings and justify our sinful attitudes and actions the more we become hardened in our hearts. Just like muscles in our bodies that become stuck in painful patterns that cripple us so does pride stiffen our spiritual and emotional muscles leading us into worse pain than if we had admitted what was wrong and allowed the pain of facing our sinfulness to promote healing in our souls.
The longer we resist admitting our sinfulness the harder our hearts become and the more spiritual and emotional pain we live in day after day.
Those who are weight lifters know that in lifting those weights they are tearing down muscles that must heal back making the muscles stronger than they were before the tears.
Those who fight to defend their sinfulness, justifying it through manipulation of their thoughts, are weakening their spiritual and emotional structures. To become strong we must first become humble appearing weaker to those who love their pride, but in the final run, we are strengthening ourselves.
Our culture says things like "no pain no gain" when it comes to physical activities to make our bodies stronger but neglects the need to painfully humble ourselves to grow spiritually and emotionally stronger.
Those who neglect the spiritual and emotional aspect of their lives focusing only on the physical will be physically strong and emotionally and spiritually weak.
The spiritual and emotional strength is far more important than the body and yet they are the parts of our being we neglect the most.
1 Timothy 4:7-9 "…7 But reject irreverent, silly myths. Instead, train yourself for godliness. 8 For physical exercise is of limited value, but godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for the present life and for the one to come. 9 This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance.…"
The spiritual, emotional and physical aspects of our being are deeply connected, they work together whether for health or for degradation.
Those who have had much physical pain, having to face it every day in their lives are more likely to be able to face that pain with grace when they walk with Christ. The physical pain does not overpower the Spirit of Christ in us, we can roll through our pain with Him and remain emotionally stable because He is with us. We may weep at times but the joy remains in us because this life and this physical body are not our real selves, our Spiritual life in Christ is who we are and in Him we have Spiritual and emotional strength.
As followers of Christ having been born-again we have hope in our future redemption from this physical life to the new bodies we will receive when we leave this physical world of death.
Those who are not in Christ very often become bitter because they do not have the help of God, they must depend entirely on their own fleshly strength, as weak as it is, to carry them through.
In the final analysis, the physical life is very temporary but eternity is forever and that is the life we look forward to as believers. These trials and the infirmities of this life pale in comparison to eternity with Christ. This world is our boot camp, the training for the Millennium and beyond, it has a purpose and an ending, we know it is very temporary compared to eternity.
Romans 8:18 "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us."
What an amazing hope we have when we are born-again. We desire that those who do not know Christ would repent and find this hope too.
Isaiah 40:31. "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
Hallelujah!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment