I am sitting in the waiting room as my wife recovers from an ERCP procedure. She is doing fine and we are about to get out of the hospital and go home. We had to come and do this procedure because last week they took out her gall bladder because of a 1.5 centimeter stone. The surgeon came out after that surgery and said that everything went well, but she had additional stones in another area. That's how we came to be where we are today. After this procedure, the doctor came out and said the surgery went great and that she was "stone free." She had been experiencing some fever, stomach ache, and some other discomfort and all that led to us visiting the doctor, and then the tests, and then the surgery. This whole process makes you appreciate our medical system and we praise God for all the doctors and nurses who worked on her. She is on track for a good recovery and ready to get back to her normal lifestyle.
I was thinking about how all this parallels with our spiritual condition. We have a sin problem in a certain area and when we consult Dr. Jesus, He says to get rid of that problem and fixes it all with His surgery. His Word gives us instruction and helps us ascertain that these symptoms are troublesome for our overall spiritual health. We get to the point where we know we need help and there needs to be some spiritual surgery to get rid of the sin. We have to decide if we will put ourselves in the hands of Him or not. If we choose to ignore this surgery, the result will be more and more spiritual health problems in the future and we will lose the health we are so used to. If we choose to follow His instructions and allow Him to operate then we are on the way to spiritual health again and because of His Grace we will get back our spiritual vitality again. Sometimes during this process God will try to move us to a higher way of thinking and some of the spiritual stones we left unturned become troublesome. We thought we could hide them and they wouldn't be noticed, but we see those spiritual stones have rolled down where we realize we have more things to deal with than we are admitting. It's time to come clean totally. What happens when we deal with those issues? You realize a release from something that has been a big hindrance in your spiritual walk and you finally get beyond some things that have been troublesome for years. Only God could care enough to do a separate procedure just for you to get in even better health. Why? Because He cares yesterday, today, and forever. Sometimes it may take a few days to recover from this new lease on life, but during the recovery you see just how awesome God is and how much He cares.
The next time God deals with you about a certain area in your life, let Him do the surgery to make it right. Be prepared though. He will probably take that situation and use it to help you in another area of your life. He will help you track down that "Rolling Stone" and get it out as well. Sadly enough, many Christians never admit they have a problem and their spiritual stones never get removed. Feeling feverish? Feeling pressed on every side? Feel like your stomach is in a vise? Turn yourself over to Dr. Jesus and let him remove those things that keep you from living a FREE life that is trusting in Him.
2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
His life is at work in each of us. Let Him continue to do a great work that brings out the best in each of us....Him. Let Him keep Rolling the Stones out of your life.
The Pilgrimage continues....
David Warren
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