Daily Readings, Monday, October 22, 2012

Psalms 25, 9, 15
Song of Songs 4:1-5:1 (replacement for Apocryphal reading)
Revelation 7:1-8
Luke 9:51-62

What I learned today:

I have named my enemy: Chronic Pain. The one place agony cannot touch is my soul (or heart) the place where Christ resides.

I can hide my soul from the pain by choosing to rejoice wholeheartedly rather than grumble and complain. Grousing and complaining will allow the enemy through the gates.

I do not have to meet the pain. God takes care of my enemy. I can expect and be full of confidence that God has it covered, so I can put down my sword.

He just expects me to trust and wait in anticipation. (Well, that is not so easy now is it!! But wait, He tells me how…)

While I am waiting, my role is to be sure to keep my heart pliable and teachable. I must not let pain - the enemy - harden my heart. I must not let pain - the enemy - make me selfish and self-centered. I must not let pain – the enemy – change my focus.

When I choose to worship God with all my heart and soul I am not focusing on the pain. 

When I choose to pay attention to the ways God is working in my life, I am not paying attention to the changes pain is making in my body.

When I choose to remember and share what God is doing in my life today, I look outward, not inward. I can choose the pen over the sword!

I pick up my pen and write to tell someone to look for God, not out there somewhere, but right here in the midst of the pain. One can wade through the stagnant places. One can muck through the grime. One can revisit the way it was before the pain. One can bathe in the flowing fountain of Living Water. God can wash one's soul, and let the blood of Jesus describe the past.

I can stay in the present knowing God sees me as beautiful. God sees me as perfect and perfected. Because of Jesus, my walk is blameless. I may enter the holy of holies. Because of the Holy Spirit I may dwell there, in the high places, instead of leaping into a pit of despair.

I will choose to make a vow, and follow the oath even when it hurts the worst, by speaking the Truth from my heart to yours. Live in The Truth that allows one to tell abundantly of the joyful place where one lives while God is out there, dealing with the enemy – pain.

Was I chosen to live in pain? Does it matter? The only flaw in me is choosing to wallow in my pain. If I choose instead to let God worry about the pain, He seals my heart.

I can talk and write from the abundance of His mercy. As Jesus did, I cry out to God in my Gethsemane of pain, and I know that the cost is paid. God will hear my cry. In His mercy, I can feel the touch of the Spirit moving gently around my pain, honoring those who walk beside me. In His mercy, he provides abundantly.

When I seek God in the pain, God provides protection. God provides opportunities to sow the seed of righteousness. God provides a home away from the isolation and selfishness. God provides hope and expectation. God provides protection. God provides a wealth of ink for my pen.

Selah. Deo Gloria.