Monday, September 05, 2011

Quiet Moments With God -- One Of Those Days


I woke up this morning with my back screaming at me. "Why? This is not fair! What did I do?" No answer. I'm frustrated and angry. I did my exercises anyway . . . barely. It's not easy to do them when my back is yapping. When I finished, my attitude still stunk. I needed God. Before settling into work mode I sat down with one of my favorite devotionals, "My Utmost for His Highest." Oswald Chambers came through again.

I will begin with the scripture, Luke 14:26. "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes his own life also, he cannot be My disciple." This sounds harsh. Christ can't really mean that, can he? He does, but maybe not in the way we think. He doesn't want us to hate. But the people we love, including ourselves, cannot compete with our relationship with Him. Christ must come first if we truly want to be His disciples. We must hand our lives over to Him--be fully His.

Christ is not speaking about our salvation in this verse. He's talking about discipleship. To be all in, so to speak. To be His and not mine. For me that means I have to hand myself over completely, including my back. If that's part of who He wants me to be, then so be it. I will serve Him because I love Him not because He's handed me everything I want in life.

I'm all in. How about you?

Grace and peace to you from God.

Bonnie

6 comments:

  1. ohhh, dear Bonnie! So sorry HIS back hurt again! :( I do understand pain, and giving it to the Lord, then taking it back cuz it's just "soooo there" yadayadayada... I'm so glad God stepped right in there for you because you first turned to him--and golllllly! Even did what you were supposed to with the exercises. That's really good. Hope you have more pain free days than you do the hurting days--that's what I'm praying for you! Hang in there--you wonderful woman!

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  2. Boy can I relate. No sleep at all last night and nothing but pain in spite of medication. Got up at 5:30, picked up the cat and cuddled with her over a cup of coffee and the devotional book I'm reading. Of course it hit right on the button, reminding me that if we say we are willing to carry the cross, then we must endure the pain of life on earth, and if we endure, we will be perfected: Our treasure is in heaven.
    Linda

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  3. Patti, you're right God did step in. I had a good day, accomplished a lot and even had dinner with my extended family.

    What could have been a disaster of a day ended up a blessing of a day.

    Praising God. And thankful for good friends like you.

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  4. Linda, I'm sooo sorry. Chronic pain is so tough to live with. Cuddling with you kitty over a cup of coffee and a devotional sounds like just the right medicine.

    Bless you.

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  5. It's so hard to remember that God is for us when we are so immersed in our pain (or in my case illness/fatigue) that you can't see straight. When I remember that He is(which I admit, I fail at on occasion)I start to sing hymns of praise and worship Him as I pray for strength to face the day. He always provides. I might not feel energized, but he bolsters me, carries me, and lifts my spirits. Praying for your back, Bonnie.

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  6. What a good suggestion, April. I'm going to try that. When I'm able to walk on my treadmill I always listen to worship music -- it makes the walk so much more fun and I sing along even if I'm using my MP3 player and probably sound like a moose. It lifts me up.

    I remember years ago after having a mylogram (sp?) that left me with a 17 day spinal headache, with five days flat in bed I was in so much pain I thought I couldn't bear it. And then I felt the presence of the Lord, right there. I could reach out and touch Him. The pain didn't go away but it became bearable.
    We do have a glorious King!

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