Inner workings
It has been a while since I’ve written a blog, but I feel like I have something I must share with you.
For several years in my life I struggled with sinus infections and colds. I lost a considerable amount of weight sometime ago and since that time things have gotten better. I’m not over them completely, they are just not as frequent as they used to be.
Recently I had one of the worst bouts with allergies I’ve ever had. Headaches, drainage, getting rid of phlegm, all that with a hard cough. These hard coughs have been common all my life. It also seems to be common in my family. The hard coughing actually caused a muscle pull in the upper part of my left leg, and when I would cough, or move my leg up or down, I would experience a new momentary misery.
By the way, it was not Covid. I got tested in April and the results were NOT DETECTED.
I took medications of all kinds, hoping to calm some of the symptoms. I had to keep a list of medications I was supposed to take, and when I was supposed to take them. This was to help me keep it all straight. This was in addition to my daily diabetes medication.
I also prayed fervently, even fiercely at times, probably even disrespectfully, being in such misery. I would demand to know why God did not relieve me when He could do so with just a passing thought. However, I am eternally grateful for His patience with His children when we act like this.
As it turned out, He did not answer those prayers the way I was asking.
I was feeling lousy physically and in my spirit as well.
Then, during my morning devotional time, something came to mind – – probably from the Holy Spirit. Do not pray for what is apparently not God’s will at that particular moment. Rather pray to be in God’s will no matter what it may be. It seemed that He had something better in mind than a simple healing from allergies.
Admittedly, allergies, colds, and things like that are common enough, and most of the time not that severe, although my coughing fractured some ribs a few years ago.
Perhaps the most shocking part of my story happened just a few mornings after that. Suddenly I began to feel better. I don't know if healing was taking place or that the process had begun. After more than three weeks of misery, I was calming down, which no doubt helped.
There are still some things hanging on, an occasional milder cough, some drainage, an occasional tickle, but I am learning how to “baby” some of these. Even the muscle pull seems better.
Galatians 5, talks about the fruit of the Spirit. I have to confess that the one piece of fruit in my own life that is weak is patience. My spiritual battle had centered on that. Then I remembered something I saw in an article that said, the fruit of the Spirit comes from the Holy Spirit Himself, not the Christian. Apparently exercising any of these fruits is the work of the Holy Spirit. Paul says in Ephesians 3:20 that there is a power at work within us. That power is remaking us into the image of Christ daily and renewing the fruit of the Spirit.
I have been deeply humbled by this whole experience. I have learned that God cares about small things, and we should not hesitate to take them to Him and to express our deepest frustrations, fears, angers, and hurts. After all, if one of our kids came to us like this we would seek to calm them first, and then listen as we begin to help settle the issue.
May this power — God’s power — be at work in us always, and may we just be still and know that He is God.
Thanks be to God.
